The Gathering of the Legends
by LegendsGuardian
Summary: Once more the Ronin Warriors are forced to take up arms, and they aren't alone. As the fights continue, the truth comes to light. They are caught in the wake of a fight that has raged on for almost three millennia…And, this is their last chance to win.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** A good majority of the characters in this story are not mine and are sole property of their creators. I am not getting a dime from doing this, only the satisfaction that I can work with a lot of characters and still have a story make sense. The characters that you will not recognize I fully blame on my subconscious.

**Original Summary: **Once more the Ronin Warriors are forced to take up arms, but this time they aren't alone. With the new enemy, comes new allies, and both groups must learn to work together. But as time progresses the truth comes to light, proving that none of this is new at all. The Ronin Warriors are caught in the wake of a fight that has raged on for almost three millennia, and this is their last chance to win.

* * *

**The Gathering of the Legends**

**Book One**

**By: LG**

**Prologue **

**Location Unknown, 2,000 years ago **

"No, please no!" She gasped out in anguish, moving as fast as the conditions would allow. Panic filled her, and pain was riddled throughout her body as she struggled to keep going forward.

"Why, why did it have to happen again?" Tears stung at her eyes, as she tried so desperately to blink them back. The young Senshi slammed to a halt, reaching the end of the trail she'd been traveling down, the clearing before her riddled with blood, and lifeless bodies.

_Too late_, the words echoed in her mind…Once more, she had been too late to do anything to prevent them from dying. She choked down a sob and quietly walked forward, whispering prayers over the fallen warriors.

The woman moved slowly from person to person as she spoke the prayers…Trying not to dwell on how often she had done it before, and how often she had failed to keep them safe and alive.

She was one of their guardians! She should have been able to stop them from going out and doing what they always did when it came time to fight _him_…All they needed was unity in their separate groups that was it! Why couldn't they listen to her, why did they have to go and do this every time?

There was no point in beating herself up over it, she couldn't change them, couldn't change their ways of doing things…All she could do now was hope for the next time, hope that they'd be stronger and united. For only then could _he_ be triumphed against, and only then would the universe's greatest threat fade.

Violet eyes fell to the group furthest from where she was currently standing, and though she didn't think she could bare to get closer, her legs unwillingly moved her forward.

The Guardian kneeled down fresh tears spilling from her eyes, as she ran a hand through the young man's blue-locks, and over his blood-stained face.

"Touma-kun, I'm so sorry," she whispered mournfully, closing her eyes to block out the pain. She knew he had given it his all, poured every ounce of his being and strength into his final strike…But it hadn't been enough to save him, or any of the others.

She sighed and got to her feet, before kneeling once more. Empty sea-green eyes, once full of life and mirth, stared unseeing up at the sky…She muffled another sob, and closed his eyelids.

"Shin-chan," the Guardian choked out, taking small comfort in the fact his death had been quick and painless. He too had valiantly fought, but it had proven to no avail…They just hadn't been ready for this fight, they had needed more time.

She now found herself next to the Warrior of Strength, and she tried her hardest not to loose whatever small bit of composure she had left. Unlike the other two armor bearers, Shuu had not had the pleasure of a swift death…And that thought alone pained her greatly.

The Guardian could only offer a sad smile, "Brave till the very end, Shuu-kun."

Her shoulders quaked and she buried her face in her hands, unable to evade crying any longer…It was too much, far too much to bear. How could she have let this happen, again? She should've been able to stop them!

"Don't," a voice whispered hoarsely, "We're not worth those tears."

She stopped abruptly, snapping her head up, eyes landing on the form who had spoken, "Seiji!"

She was by him in an instant as he tried to sit up, and when the attempt failed, she was behind him preventing him from hitting his head against the ground.

"You," she murmured tightening her grip around his waist slightly, "Are all idiots! Why can't you listen to me for once?"

He let out a low chuckle, or tried to, "You know us we're stubborn. I happen to think that gets worse as it goes along."

"It's not funny Seiji," she reprimanded immediately, burying her face into the crook of his neck, "How can you, of all people, treat this so lightly? You're dying you idiot, and the others are already dead."

"Because," he answered in a soft voice, "It's happened before, and I trust your abilities. I know you can start time over again for us, and this time we'll win against him, I know it."

"You're the biggest group of morons I've ever had to deal with," she quietly sobbed, "I'm so tired of this!"

"I know you are," the blonde swordsman replied, looking up at her now, "But don't cry over us, time will start over and we all will be together again…This time though we'll be stronger and a team, I don't know how or why, I just know."

She gave a soft shake of her head, black-and-silver strands of hair falling into her face, "It won't be the same it never is. And this time I fear I won't be seeing you or the others for a long while."

"Don't worry so much, in the end everything will be fine," the warrior closed his eyes and let out a sigh, "You better go, Ryo's still fighting he's going to need your help."

"That moron always needs help," the Guardian managed to crack a joke, but only for his sake.

A small smile graced the swordsman's lips, "Yeah. Imouto? For what it's worth, I am sorry."

"Seiji?" She asked in alarm, feeling his presence vanish; she shed a few more tears and then got up, gently laying him on the ground, "Good-bye."

The Senshi took a deep breath before plunging forward into the next clearing, powers and senses flaring violently.

Ryo had his back to her and was fighting the demon without ceasing; he couldn't stop now, anger and pent-up rage at having once more lost his friends wouldn't permit him to quit. His body was tired and ached horribly, but he wasn't going to give up, not here and not now.

The Guardian watched eyes widening in horror, as the demon rammed his sword through the young man, piercing both armor and sub-armor.

"Ryo!" She shrieked loudly, running forward and drawing her sword throwing herself between the two as the demon made move to finish the job.

The Senshi sliced into the demon's arm, and then performed a spin-kick sending him flying into the nearest tree. In one swift movement she sheathed her sword and caught the young man in her arms, and gently helped him to settle on the ground.

Ryo clenched his teeth from the pain he was feeling, leaning against her for support, "Kinda think I blew it, what do you think?"

"You baka!" the Guardian shouted angrily at him amidst her tears, "Why Ryo, why? Please just tell me why!"

"Didn't Seiji tell you that we are stubborn and thick headed?" He asked cracking a small grin, before becoming solemn, "I don't know; we all just thought that, maybe this time we could win."

"How could you?" She demanded in rage, "You hadn't even begun to grasp the power you had last time. How could any of you think you'd stand a chance, when you're jumping down one another's throats more than half-the-time? You can't beat him without unity, and you know that."

The young warrior could only nod in response, the gaping hole in his stomach and loss of blood making him dizzy and faint…He was quiet for but a few minutes, trying to pick out the right words before speaking, "I'm sorry, actually we all are. We thought we could do this and get it over with, but we were wrong."

He added upon seeing the scowl on her face, "Again. Maybe next time we'll listen to you?"

Ordinarily the Guardian would have bluntly told him that hell had a better chance of freezing over, but her normal mood had changed; now everything had…

She had been forced to sit in a cell and watch them die; once she had gotten free she had only made it to aide in the passing process...And yet again, she was holding the leader of the Troopers as he died.

She came out of her thoughts as she felt him start to slip, "Please, don't die on me. Not again, Ryo please, you promised me!"

"I know I did," he quietly murmured, "But even then, I knew we wouldn't make it this time…We will next time though, things will change…He won't stand a chance. No matter what happens, I'll find you; that's a promise."

The wound alone shouldn't have been able to kill him this quickly, but he was past exhaustion and the white armor had taken a great toll on his strength…Ryo just couldn't last any longer.

"No," she cried out in anguish as she felt his power completely fade, "NO!"

She hugged him tightly and wept as waves of grief, pain, and anger flooded her senses and filtered throughout her soul. She only slowly came out of this trance a few moments later, realizing what she had left to do.

The demon had waited, just like he normally did…Unlike most others, he had a sense of honor. He wasn't fighting to gain control of anyone, or anything, he was merely fighting to test and prove his strength.

In doing this, he had caused the destruction of countless worlds and galaxies, before settling on this one…This one that had the only possible chance of destroying him. It had yet to happen though, and the only reason he had not moved on was because of _her. _

Each time he defeated these warriors, _she _would re-start time, enabling the warriors another chance to try and win; and so, here he continued to remain.

He watched as the young woman slowly got to her feet, her gaze defiantly resting on him…Emotion was completely gone from her face, and she drew her sword.

The Guardian was going to reset time yes, but she was going to do something different this time…Something she had been forbidden to do from the beginning. She was going to seal _him_ away, giving the warriors more time and the chance to finally defeat him once and for all.

* * *

**Shinjuku, Japan: 1989 **

The skies had now reverted back to a clear and calm crystalline blue, losing the yellow and green hue they had but moments before.

The people that had been fighting with one another over selfish greed, walked along the streets as though nothing had happened. In their simple minds nothing had.

As always, she noted thoughtfully to herself, the people of this planet remained ignorant of the greater evils that tried to overtake it. As well as those that tried to protect them from such dangers. But that was the way it had to be, at least for now.

The young female warrior had stationed herself in the shadows of a tall building, lurking in a narrow alleyway. Her appearance closely resembled that of one of the Scouts, but her skirt was longer, being knee-length instead of the favored shorter one.

She looked to be no more than fourteen, if that, but her eyes held wisdom ages old; she was not as young as she appeared.

Violet eyes finally settled on the five figures she was looking for, and a small smile developed on her face.

They were young men, the eldest being no more than fifteen perhaps. They came from different backgrounds, and different families, and yet they were closer than blood-brothers now.

They were the ones responsible for saving the planet from a hazardous ending, and they had done well.

She had been here to witness the end of the battle, as well as watch them celebrate after winning.

They did not know her now, and they may never know her again, but it didn't matter now. She was more than proud of the job they had done, and the fact they had done it by themselves made it all the better.

"Well done my friends," she murmured; her voice was soft and low almost as though she had not spoken in quite sometime.

Their war with Talpa was over, yet there were others out there that might cause them trouble in the near future...But if they could handle Talpa, they could handle anything, of that she was certain.

The Scout let out a small laugh as the white tiger leapt up and caught the 'ball' before taking off as fast as his legs would carry him.

The five were after him without much thought, as were the girl and young boy that had to suffer through the past agonizing months.

Here the Scout had to agree with Kaosu, for two innocents that had been quickly swept into things that would have most certainly had grown adults startled, they had conducted themselves quite well.

Her eyes lingered on the young blonde-haired boy, "You were right Seiji…" She paused a moment, realizing that wasn't the name he went by now; "Sage, you are stronger and a team finally. No one will ever be able to take that away from you."

She held her breath as the tiger darted past her hiding place. Quickly leaning back against the wall her form was swallowed by the shadows, and she vanished just before the others came past her.

The one young man slowed slightly, cocking his head toward the alleyway, almost having been sure someone...Or something had been there.

Upon the calls of his friends asking what he was doing, he hastily waved the feeling off, and picked back up his run.

* * *

**Tokyo, Japan: 1993?? **

Once more she stood in the shadows, but a handful of years had passed since the last time she had been in this part of the world.

She now looked to be in her late-teens, but this was as far as she would age. Her eyes rested on a group of female warriors, dressed similarly to her, nine of them at least. Each wore a different color fuku, and represented a different planet.

A young child was dressed like the older girls; a small kitten perched on her shoulder. However she was not listening as the others around her spoke. Instead her eyes darted around the park, as if she were looking for something, or perhaps someone.

The masked and caped man standing next to her asked a question, only to get no response whatsoever. To this he let out a long sigh, and repeated the question but much louder.

The warrior chuckled to herself; knowing that the small Scout was not of this time, but of the future.

She remained silent as each person powered down, and then left the clearing to return to their 'normal' lives before they would be missed.

The Scout sighed softly and took one last look at the rising sun, murmuring,

"That is the last of the battles. I just hope that this time, they can win the war."


	2. Chapter 1: Birthday Reunion

_**Disclaimer:** A good majority of the characters in this story are not mine and are sole property of their creators. I am not getting a dime from doing this, only the satisfaction that I can work with a lot of characters and still have a story make sense. The characters that you will not recognize I fully blame on my subconscious._

**The Gathering of the Legends**

**Chapter One**

"**Birthday Reunion"**

_**September 1996**_

**Yokohama, Japan; Chinatown: 10:00 a.m. **

Vivid-blue eyes gently flickered over the elaborate decorations that had been put into place. The owner of these eyes was taking one last look, before deciding if any further decorating would be required to the spacious Chinese restaurant.

He calmly ran a hand through his wild and thick ebony hair, before turning around to face his three 'accomplices' as it were.

The one young man was also scanning the walls, his usually emotionless face, showed his complete approval and mirth with the situation at hand. He felt eyes upon him, and turned his head to look, strands of golden hair effectively hiding his right eye.

"Approve do you Sage?" the raven-haired man inquired, effectively hiding a smile.

A smirk adorned the blonde's face, as he gave a mere nod, "Payback is wonderful."

Ryo Sanada sniggered quietly, tilting his head to the auburn haired man standing next to Sage Date, waiting for him to weigh in on the matter at hand.

Sea-green eyes were filled with volumes of laughter, voice undoubtedly tinged with amusement, "Kento's in for it this time."

Here the raven-haired young man tried not to snort, "We'll be lucky if he doesn't figure out a way to get us back for this."

"In that case," the smirk on Sage's face widened considerably, "Rowen will be the one in trouble."

A huff was heard from the last occupant of the room, as he lowered the text book he had been leafing through. Rowen had decided not to enroll for a second term in college, a mistake that may cost him later, but he really didn't care.

He shoved the stubborn lock of blue hair out of his face, before responding, "Ya, whatever. All I know, is he better appreciate this."

Cye Mouri quirked an eyebrow at the man standing next to him, not sure if it had been sarcasm or a serious statement; Sage was also giving his best friend a none-to-kind look.

Ryo chuckled to himself, "I don't think they took that as a joke."

"Oops?" Rowen Hashiba permitted himself a smirk, it was often way-too-easy to do that to them.

The four young men had spent the past two hours decorating the Faun Family Restaurant, as elaborately as possible.

It was partly due to the fact that Kento Rei Faun had insisted upon throwing surprise birthday parties for each one of them, and doing a wonderful job of completely surprising them.

This was their attempt, to more or less, return the favor.

Cye gave a yawn, and pulled out a chair quickly sitting down in it, "He has no clue at all."

"None whatsoever, he probably thinks we forgot," the blue-haired man also sat, laying his book on the table.

"So," Ryo cleared his throat, sitting down as well, "What have you all been up to?"

Sage snorted back a laugh, "Since your birthday? Nothing really."

"Don't be a wise-guy," Rowen ridiculed his friend, "That's my job."

"No, it's your job to be the smart one. Being wise, and being smart are two totally different things," the blonde smugly retorted.

Ryo let out a low groan, he should've known better than to set the situation up for those two to bicker.

Cye offered his best friend a smile and shake of his head, "We haven't seen each other much lately, and yet you two are carrying-on like we haven't been apart."

Sage and Rowen stopped mid-insults allowing the weight of those words to sink in.

The blonde was quiet for a few minutes, before he spoke, "Just because we haven't been within the same space, doesn't mean our friendship is going to change. We all remember what happened the last time."

"Yeah," Ryo shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Suzunagi did show up after we had drifted far apart…I should've…"

A collective groan went up from the other three, causing Ryo to pause and quirk an eyebrow at them all.

Rowen gave an exasperated sigh, "Bud, you really need to stop blaming yourself for things."

"But!" the raven-haired man began to protest, only to be cut off by Cye.

"He's right Ryo, it isn't like…"

"_Guys_!" he yelled causing them to jolt, and he hid a smirk, "I was just saying. Gah."

"Oh," they sheepishly grinned in response, quite used to Ryo and his famed guilt trips.

If it was raining when it was supposed to be sunny, you could be sure that Ryo Sanada was blaming himself for letting it happen. Of course, they were smart and never told him that analogy to his face.

To some the names would seem familiar; perhaps they were family, friends, or former schoolmates. The young men seemed no different from anyone else; they looked and acted just like any other person their age.

Each had their distinct personality, their own aspirations and dreams. Sometimes they could be so different from one another it was hard to see how the five could get along.

But, in any friendship there is always something that keeps it together; making it so that either the friendship weathers the test of time, or it breaks. And constantly, that bond had been the thing to bring them back together and make their failing friendship stronger.

They were the Ronin Warriors, or Yoroiden Samurai Troopers; they had saved the world from many great evils, and managed to live through each experience; a little worse for the wear maybe, but still alive. Considering the magnitude and strength of the evils they had faced, it was lucky that a one of them had survived.

There had been close calls along way, more than a one of them were willing to admit, but they had still made it out, as stronger friends and brothers-in-arms. At times their friendship had begun to fray, but it normally took only one get together to fix the problem.

That had not been the case the last time…After the destruction of the armors, they had tried to go back to normal lives…Well as normal as it could be for five young men who had spent over four years of their lives' fighting things that weren't supposed to exist.

The adjustment had not been an easy one, and in the process they had drifted away from one another, whether it was intentional or unintentional didn't matter…All that mattered was it had happened, and they shouldn't have permitted it.

When the mysterious Suzunagi appeared things had changed…And ever since she had left them with their new armors, their bond had not wavered once. In fact things were even better now, then when they had been fighting Talpa…But maybe that was because they were more mature.

Ryo came out of his thoughts just in time to hear Rowen call Sage a very lame insult…The Ronin of Wildfire sighed, so much for the maturity aspect. He should have known better.

'_Things never change,' _he thought with a wry smile.

* * *

**10:50 a.m. **

A burly Chinese man made his way to the phone, bellowing, "I said I was coming!"

He carefully picked up the phone, while trying to figure out who would be calling, "Hello?"

The voice on the other end hesitated for a minute able to discern the note of irritation, "Shuu dear?"

Kento Rei Faun bit back a sigh, after having been called by his formal name, "Yeah, Ma. What can I do for you?"

The Chinese woman on the other end immediately began her usual brisk chatter, "We could use your help in the restaurant today. We are a bit short, and you were my first thought. Seeing as how we haven't seen you in over three weeks. You don't mind coming in do you?"

"I'm on my way Ma," the Warrior of Strength tried not to chuckle, as he placed the phone into the receiver.

He had a feeling she would call to ask him to help, that was why he had already dressed in his work clothes.

He gave a shake of his purple-ash hair, "My own mother forgot my birthday. Not to mention the guys, not so much as a letter...But ehh that's what I get for throwing people surprise birthday parties all the time. I bet they were past being amused."

He shrugged to himself, taking a glance in the mirror to make sure he would be acceptable to work, satisfied that he was, he grabbed a light coat, and left his apartment.

* * *

**11:02 a.m. **

The wind blew around him lightly, almost enough for him to notice.

Kento had opted to walk to the restaurant, since it wasn't that far from his apartment. He hadn't strayed far from home after completing his required schooling, none of the others had either, or at least not to his knowledge.

The walk allowed him time to think which was something he was in desperate need of, lately he had been to busy to stop and think.

He felt...Almost edgy, as though something were going to happen soon that would once more change the course of his and his friends' lives.

The re-occurring dream he had been having also troubled him, it was a battle, but it felt like it had happened a life-time ago. All he knew was that he and the other four Ronins were not the only ones on the battlefield.

There were others and somehow he knew they were allies; but as far as the enemy they were facing...The Hardrock Ronin had no clue at all who it could have been; or what for that matter.

Kento's main worry? Was this dream a warning of what was to come, or was he simply remembering something that had happened? He also had one last thought on this, and this one bothered him a great deal...

Was it possible that it was both?

_'If there is a new evil out there, who could it be? It can't be the Dynasty...Kayura and the other Warlords made sure that nothing that happened there would leak over to our world. This dream has to mean it isn't over for us, and somehow I get the feeling it wasn't meant to be over yet. But who could it possibly be?'_

He walked along quietly for a few minutes, before realizing that he was at the restaurant; a new thought popped into his head, _'Okay, we own a chain of these restaurants, would someone please explain to me, why my Mother and Father, insist on working in this one? I guess when you've done something all your life; it's hard to give it up...But still and all...'_

He briskly entered, hanging up his coat, and immediately heading for the kitchen.

"Good Morning, Oniichan!" a girl about twenty greeted him, on his way to the kitchen.

Kento paused a moment, furrowing his brows, "Morning, Rinfi? It's close enough to be lunch time, isn't it?"

She was a traditional looking Chinese girl, though the edges of her hair had been dyed pink...Probably by Chun Fa, the youngest of the Faun family children.

The young woman gave a slight chuckle, and shook her head, "We still have another forty minutes, and only twenty until the early-lunch crowd comes in though."

A holler from the kitchen caused the woman's entire demeanor to change, from practiced pleasantness to one of extreme annoyance, as she snapped, "I'm coming!"

He ran a hand through his purple-ash hair, stifling a chuckle as he watched his sister storm off to the kitchen; he dutifully followed, but at a good distance.

Rinfi was the one with the temper in the family, if she ever got mad enough you were in trouble. She was twice as stubborn as Kento, and that was definitely saying something. But, she was also very much a realist, so it did have a tendency to balance out.

The person who had called her back, was eighteen-year-old Yun, and a slight smirk adorned his face upon seeing his older brother. Yun resembled Kento in looks; his hair was still an off-blue in color and more neatly kept, though he had the lighter build of his father.

The young man passively ignored his sister, while she rambled on about how improper it was to kid around when he was supposed to be working, "Hey, Shuu-nii-chan."

Kento bristled, demanding, "I thought I told you not to call me that?"

The slighter boy smirked, "Yeah, so you did."

Kento rolled his eyes and brushed past Yun without another word, why did younger siblings have to be such royal pains?

"Hey, Ma," Kento chuckled as the woman whirled around.

"Shuu!" she gently reprimanded, "You shouldn't sneak up on an old woman like that."

He smiled, "An old woman? I don't see any, do you Pa?"

Chan Run briefly looked up from the meal he was working on, "Yes, she's standing right in front of me."

Mama Faun glared daggers at her husband, signifying he would be hearing about this conversation again later, before turning thankful eyes to her son, "Thanks for coming, I'm sure you had other plans today, but we're so short! Misha is the only working waitress today, Shira's on maternal leave."

The young man gave a slight nod, indicating that he was listening and that she could continue.

"Well, we have a party in or reserved section, and the front is completely packed. Rinfi and Yun are helping out, but we could really..."

"Don't worry about it Ma, I'll handle the party," Kento resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and smirk at the same time. Sometimes his mother amused him too much for him to keep a straight face.

The Chinese woman watched as he departed the kitchen, this time she was the one beyond amused.

A fifteen-year-old boy came out from his hiding place, his eyes were almond-colored like his fathers, but his hair was straight black like his mothers, "Did he fall for it Mama?"

The woman let out a sigh, "As much as I love your dear brother, Mei Ryu," she paused and then grinned, "Yes."

A giggle came from the youngest of the children, as she, too, appeared from where she had hidden.

"This is going to be fun!" Chun Fa cried in delight.

Kento trudged his way up to the second floor of the restaurant, where the room was cordoned off for reservations only. It had been that way for as long as he could remember, or at least he thought it had.

He was too absorbed in thought to notice that for a party there was relatively little noise coming from the room.

He put a hand on the door knob, musing aloud, as he threw them open, "Wonder who's birthday its for?"

"Yours!" a chorus of voices sang.

Kento blinked a few times after hearing a clicking noise followed by a bright flash of light, he then proceeded to groan. His friends had managed to get him back after all.

* * *

**12:20 p.m. **

The talk started to wind down about an hour or so later, noticing this Rowen picked up the picture, saying with a smirk, "Mia, you have to make copies of this for me."

The brunette woman arched her eyebrows at him, deciding to hold her tongue. Her long hair was somewhat shorter than it had been, and curly now...A change she thought she had needed, or rather deserved.

Mia Koji was now a twenty-five-year-old professor at the University, as well as partners with a few other professors that dealt in ancient mythology around the globe.

Few could understand her fascination with the subject, but it had largely to do with the fact that she had lived through the legend of the Ronin Warriors (Yoroiden Samurai Troopers for those who wished to be politically correct).

As the years had gone by, the five young men had still fought to include her at these social gatherings as often as they could, or as often as her schedule would permit. She had managed to fit this party in, at almost a last minute's notice.

Kento gave a grunt of irritation, choosing to ignore the Ronin of Strata completely.

Seeing that his best friend's teasing was going on ignored, Sage quickly brought in, "Yes, I think I will need three."

Mia's eyebrows sharply went up again, as she looked at the blonde incredulously, "Three?"

"Yes," a smirk adorned his face, as he went on to elaborate, "One for the living room to go along with the others, one for the office, and one for use as blackmail."

While the Hardrock Ronin glowered at Sage with a look that stated the only reason the blonde was in one-piece was because there was a lady present, Cye carefully took the photo from Rowen.

He glanced at it for a minute or two, before returning it to the table top, "I have to agree with them, it is a priceless masterpiece."

Kento closed his open mouth with a snap, and decided to sulk since his best friend had joined in the banter.

Ryo gave a slight shake of his head, thinking to himself with a grin, _'We'll never change, will we?'_

* * *

"Yohoo, earth to Ryo?" Kento tilted his head at his friend, asking for the third time, "Do you want another piece of cake or not?" 

"Uh, how about not? Two's more than enough for me," the Wildfire Ronin blinked a few times, unaware that he had zoned out on the others.

"More for us!" the other four cried, as they then burst into laughter.

Mia wasn't sure whether to be amused or exasperated with the young men, at times they acted their age, but others ... Well, it was like being back at the Manor. Now whether that was a good or bad thing…That she had yet to figure out.

The young woman took a glance at her watch, her eyes widening when she realized how late it was getting, "Guys, we've been here a while now, and I've used up all the film."

Snickers went up, before the sarcastic 'aw'-ing commenced.

She gave a roll of her eyes, "Oh yeah, you sure do act your age."

Rowen gave a sly grin to the other four after mouthing out, _'Ouch.'_

"And just because you're younger than they are doesn't give you an excuse," Mia told him, point-blank, having caught that out of the corner of her eye, "Anyway, we had the party, Kento unwrapped his gifts..."

An award winning grin was plastered on the Hardrock Ronin's face as she mentioned that.

"Mia, dear, cut to the point," Cye told her, after swallowing. He adored her, as did they all, but sometimes he couldn't understand why she needed to drag things out. It wasn't like they needed to be let down easily, they were grown men after all.

He suspected it was just in her nature to be that way.

"It's been fun," here she smiled sadly, "But I have a job to get back to."

"Oh gee is that all?" Rowen and Sage teased her, knowing that there was the added fact of her boyfriend being unable to join them today.

Mia smirked as she teased back, "At least I have a steady."

Ryo let out a low groan, _'No, I guess we won't change.'_

After saying goodbye and promising to keep in touch, Mia left the restaurant.

The minute she left the room Rowen muttered, though it was all in good-humor, "She always did know how to ruin a party!"

"Rowen!" four voices reprimanded immediately.

The blue-haired young man gave a pout, "What I say this time?"

* * *

_A/N: Well folks here's Chapter One for you. At this time I would like to thank my ever-vigilant beta-reader, LaDyWiLdFiReKiTtY, who has been reading this story for almost as long as I've been writing it. Muchos gracias chica :) Thanks to those who reviewed the prologue -glomps all- _

_And just a few notes on things you may not like, or have a question about:_

_First, there are around ten or so ways to spell Kento's Japanese name. Shuyu Rei Faun, Shuu Rei Faun, Shu Rei Faun and Xiuli Huang being some of them. I tend to use Shuu Rei Faun (it's easier to type), and the only reason I use an 'R' instead of an 'L' is because I'm going by the official bios. And yeah, I know Shuu is the family name, however seeing as how in the series he was called Shuu instead of Rei Faun I'm sticking with it._

_Second of all, I know some people regard Kento's hair color as being a "fanfic cliché." I found a tree though, the "Autumn Purple Ash" and in the fall the leaf color is similar to Kento's hair-color in Message. So that's why I'm using 'purple-ash;' seeing as how the events in this story include the Message OVA._

_I am using the place names from the original Japanese version, instead of the dub. They work better with the story._

_Last comment for this chapter, I promise! I realize some people have an issue when a writer uses Japanese like I do; the argument tends to be to keep it all one language since they are in Japan and speaking Japanese already. My thoughts are if you want to use a few simple phrases and /or words, go ahead…Just don't let it crowd your story. I use 'Oniichan' since it takes up less space than 'big brother'; just like I used 'Imouto' (little sister) in the prologue. To me it doesn't look as awkward when you read it. That's my reasoning behind using any Japanese terms/words/phrases in this story (a.k.a. I'm lazy)._


	3. Chapter 2: Sense of Foreboding

**Warning: _Pay attention to the times._**_ I put them up to lessen the risk of people getting confused about what was going on; since part of this chapter occured before the previous one, in addition to during it. Yeah lousy explanation I know; but you'll see what I mean._

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* * *

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**Chapter Two: **

"**Sense of Foreboding"**

**Tokyo, Japan; Hikawa Shrine: Same Day, 8:47 a.m. **

A blonde girl with hair pulled into tidy pig-tails sat on the porch, looking up at the sky.

The past few weeks had been quiet, but it wouldn't last. The past fights had taught her that much, and heaven knew she had been in plenty of those.

Serena Tsukino was far different from the fourteen-year-old crybaby that she had been, she was unlike most teens her age actually; she was now nineteen and a veteran of several wars with demons. Serena was Sailor Moon, and the Princess of a no longer existing kingdom. Her closest friends were also Sailor Scouts, or Sailor Senshi if you prefer, each represented a planet. Those of the Inner Planets were her closest friends, while those of the Outer...Well that friendship certainly needed a lot more work added to it. She looked over to the blue-haired girl reading a rather worn volume.

Ami Mizuno, Sailor Mercury, picked up her head, and studied her leader curiously, "Something wrong?"

The blonde gave a slight nod, "Yeah, it's been way too quiet. Don't you think Rei?"

A black-haired girl arched her eyebrows quizzically, "Why do you ask, Meatball-head?"

Serena growled in her throat, but decided to avert having one of their famed bickering matches, not really in the mood to argue.

"Give it a rest, Rei," a tall brunette girl yawned, cracking a green-eye open, "I could use some action."

The other blonde in the group spoke up, "You would want a fight Lita."

Rei Hino shook her dark head, choosing to be civil for the moment, "Yes and there seems to be a great unrest. But I'm getting nothing at all, no help whatsoever."

Lita Kino sat up now, "I think it's weird. Those samurai-type demons just appeared, tested us, and then disappeared and we haven't seen a one since."

A black cat, with a crescent moon on her forehead now spoke, "Yes, I agree, it does seem strange."

Serena regarded the cat thoughtfully before turning to the other blonde girl, "Mina, where's Artemis?"

Mina Aino shrugged, "I don't know, he might be with Diana."

"Luna, why don't you go check?" Ami suggested thoughtfully to the cat.

Luna sighed and paused in her grooming, "All right, I'm going."

Rei sighed, saying the minute the cat had left, "I think the Outer Scouts might have something to do with our not seeing these mysterious demons."

The resident genius gave a shake of her blue-head, "It won't last for long. They can't keep us out of everything."

"They sure are trying," Lita grumbled, "We'll be involved in this sooner or later, and I would prefer sooner, so I can get back to a normal life."

"Have we truly ever had a normal life?" Mina asked with a smile. She pulled out her Venus transformation pendant, and studied it thoughtfully, "Somehow I don't think we have."

"Ah," Lita leaned back again, "You have me there. But I think I'd rather do this then lead a boring every-day life."

Rei smirked, "You're just saying that to say it."

"What of it?" Lita challenged teasingly.

"Oh please, I could so whip you Jupiter," the Fire Senshi quickly returned.

Serena let out a sigh and rolled her eyes, _'If she isn't bickering with me, she has to bicker with someone else.'_

Her thoughts then drifted towards the Outer Senshi, it had been a while since they had seen them.

The last battle for the Sailor Scouts had occurred almost an exact three years prior, it had been a tough fight, and they had almost lost...But in the end they had triumphed. Perhaps five or six months ago, strange samurai-clad demons had come to attack the five Inner Senshi. The fight had been a short one, as there hadn't been that much of the enemy. But they hadn't done too well, as each girl was slightly out of practice not having had to fight in so long. Since then they had thrown themselves back into training, more than prepared for the enemy to strike once more. As mentioned, the enemy had yet to strike again, and all five girls were sure the older Outer Senshi had something to do with that.

Rei paused for a moment, a chill going up her spine, and she frowned; there would be definite trouble later on today...She could feel it; they would have to be careful.

"Hey," Mina brought in suddenly, "Let's go into town for a bit."

"Okay!" Serena quickly agreed, "I could do with some shopping."

"Boy searching," Lita added with a thoughtful grin.

Ami sighed and put down her book, she had a feeling it was going to be one of those weeks.

She just didn't know how right she was.

* * *

**Tokyo Japan; City Outskirts: 9:00 a.m. **

A woman, perhaps twenty-one years of age slowed down her sports car. She had short cut blonde hair, and could easily be mistaken for a guy on looks alone. It didn't help that she also dressed the part. She pulled over to the curb, and exited the vehicle

The woman sitting in the passenger seat, followed suit, if not somewhat reluctantly. She seemed to have almost mid-length sea-green hair, though it often changed due to the lighting. She wore more feminine clothing than her friend.

She blinked a few times at her companion, confusion still on her face, "Amara?"

"Hm?" came the gruff response, as Amara Ten'ou crossed her arms in front of her chest.

The young woman studied the Sailor of Uranus a moment before continuing with her inquiry, "What's the matter?"

"We stopped to wait for the others."

"Oh," Michelle Kaiou murmured softly, "I had forgotten."

Amara smirked at the Senshi of Neptune, "You would."

"It's not like I forgot on purpose!" she protested, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

This caused the other to chuckle, but Uranus wisely decided not to press the issue.

"We're here already," a tall woman with dark green hair appeared, almost materializing from nowhere.

Trista Meiou was known as Sailor Pluto, the Sailor Senshi in charge of time, and the official leader of the Outer Senshi. At her side was a girl of about seventeen, who had short black hair, and very pale skin.

"Good!" Michelle was glad to see the two again, especially Hotaru Tomoe, who was the youngest of the Senshi and represented the planet Saturn.

Hotaru smiled, giving Michelle a hug, "I missed you both!"

Amara chuckled again, "Where's the last member of our group?"

Trista gave a roll of her eyes, the look on her face saying _'did-you-have-to-ask?'_ "She's coming."

Another portal opened, this one visible, and a woman stepped out.

She had wavy mid-length green hair, and stunning silver eyes. Her skin tone was close to Michelle's though it was perhaps a shade or two darker. Lindsay Catarino was the last member of the Outer Senshi. Not having joined the group until about seven months prior, during an attack by the same strange samurai-clad demons that had attacked the Inner Scouts. As a Senshi, she was referred to as Sailor Galaxy, having the power of the stars at her disposal. She was quite different as a _'normal' _person; for her attitude had the tendency to be more than overbearing. Her only living relative was her younger cousin. Whom she shared responsibility over a large estate with, though the other supposedly had the final say in the matters. This was the furthest thing from the truth, as it was Lindsay who had more influential power when it came to the estate.

Being older, and having certain social skills her cousin lacked, put her on a playing-field above that of the younger girl. Plus there was the fact their legal guardian, had always favored Lindsay more. Lindsay was just a natural at getting things, and having everything done her way; she wasn't ashamed of that fact either.

"Hey Linds," Amara gave a slight nod to the woman.

Lindsay smirked, "You remembered my name? Gee, I'm touched."

"Oh bottle it," Hotaru admonished, "Why can't you be nice outside of Sailor form?"

"Just a quirk of being me I guess," The young woman quickly slid into the car, demanding, "We going or not?"

"Going," Michelle said with a sigh, getting back into the car, thank heavens Tokyo wasn't that far away.

Amara quickly started up the car, and they were off once more.

* * *

**10:00 p.m. **

"So...We're going to meet with the Inner Scouts?"

"Yes," Trista sighed, "We've been over this a thousand times already, Lindsay!"

The woman feigned being hurt, "I just want to make sure I have this straight. We disappeared off the face of the earth for three months, and are now showing up to talk with the Inner Senshi..."

She took a pause before continuing, "About the fact that we are all going to have to fight again, up against some force we know nothing about, because the spirits contacting my cousin are being way too vague and we have been unable to locate any information ourselves. Am I right?"

"Shut-up and take a nap," Hotaru grumbled in annoyance.

Lindsay briskly ignored the younger girl and continued, "And we're not going to meet with the Inner till tomorrow night. So where are we going to crash?"

"Our place," Amara answered gritting her teeth.

"You know maybe I should tell little cousin we're coming back, she'll be so glad to see me," Lindsay smirked in delight.

Michelle was starting to get irritated with the woman as well, "She wouldn't dislike you, if you'd leave her alone."

"What fun would that be?" came the quick retort.

* * *

**Earlier That Day: 4:49 a.m. **

The last swing of his sword had come too close, far too close for her comfort. She had barely managed to avoid the dangerous object seconds before. He openly mocked her as the fighting continued; she was no longer sure how long the battle had been dragging on for at this point, but she no longer cared. She let out a gasp of surprise as the sword made contact putting a gash in her knee.

"You'll die," he whispered in a cold sultry voice, "Just as they did."

As the images once more flashed in her head, she cried out in rage forcing herself to her feet and to strike again, "NO!"

The girl bolted upright in her bed, body trembling with a bundle of emotions after seeing that dream. She rubbed her clammy hands up and down her arms, trying to ward off the chill. Her breathing was shaky and hard to control, but she concentrated and slowly managed to calm herself down. She had gone to bed late last night, not having bothered to change her clothes, much less take-down her black-hair that now stuck out in odd places from the scrunchie she still wore. Going by her looks she had to be about sixteen years of age, with hazel-violet flecked eyes, and a medium-complexion.

She took a hesitant look at her alarm clock, after re-assuring herself that she was indeed awake, and saw that it was barely five in the morning. That was perfect...this made it the sixth week that dream had come to plague her, and she was no closer as to finding out why it was coming in the first place. Elayne decided sleep would no longer be possible and got out of the bed, grabbing the clothes she had laid out yesterday evening.

"If I knew I was going to wake up this early again, I wouldn't have bothered," she muttered to no one in particular, opting to take a shower to further calm her nerves.

Fifteen minutes later she was quietly walking down the long winding stair case to the first floor. She was one of the people in charge of the ShinwaKo Estate, so named since many legends and rumors surrounded its existence. Currently the Estate could be viewed as more of a 'public housing project' than anything else. While it had been in Elayne's family (on her mother's side) for quite a ways back before they had fled the country and then once more when they had returned, due to mismanagement by the Manager it's fate was more in the hands of corporate big-wigs.

Elayne's parents had died when she was an infant, but she was not sure how or why, she couldn't find that out either. The only one who could have told her was her legal guardian, and he had died from heart-failure almost three years before. Then again, she would never have asked him anyway; they had not gotten along at all. Nakahara-san had been too intent on making her the 'perfect' young lady, and she had immediately put up a fight against that.

It was his own fault though; after Elayne's uncle and aunt died (Lindsay's parents) he had sent her to live with a friend and his son. His excuse to his friend had been that he didn't want such a small child around the agony and grief. He was also afraid Elayne needed more attention then he could provide, she was only three after all.

Well she had ended up living with them for nine years, before she had to go back to the Estate. By then she was pretty much set in her ways, and did not plan on changing to suit someone else's whims. Especially his; she was not going to become the perfect model of a Japanese woman; she was only half-Japanese to begin with!

Elayne grinded her teeth together in annoyance; he would only call her by her Japanese name, Mogami An. She wouldn't have minded if he used full name (Elayne An Catarina Mogami); but only calling her by half of her name, made her feel that he was trying to ignore the rest of her heritage.

That was something she would never stand for in a million years. Her father was Italian, her mother was Japanese, and she was proud of that. She wasn't going to let anyone, even if he was an elder and in charge of her well-being, take that away from her.

So to spite him, she only used the Italian half of her name when she was out in public and would refuse to acknowledge him if he called her anything else. Of course at her job everyone used 'Mogami,' but there wasn't much she could do about that.

"Why am I thinking about him?" She demanded annoyed, a scowl crossing her features, "It's his fault that we almost completely lost the Estate. I'm lucky to have a room here, and it's my family's house!"

She paused in her seething; the only reason she was still here was the fact too many questions would be asked as to why she wasn't living there. It wasn't common knowledge that the only two 'survivors' of the family barely had a claim to the Shinwako Estate. Her cousin Lindsay had more of claim then she did, but that woman always managed to get her way somehow. Then again, Elayne wasn't the 'groveling and flaunting' type; she'd starve to death first.

"The only blessing," She mused to herself aloud, "Is the fact no one wants to be bothered with Grandma's mansion; probably the reason they let me keep it in the first place."

She couldn't remember her parents, but she did remember her grandmother. A kind and quiet woman with an unnatural gift and talent, the woman had been a shaman and Elayne had many unique traits from her. Grandmother Mogami had grown up in that mansion, and had loved the home beyond all reasoning. She would have never permitted it to be destroyed, and because of everyone's respect for her it remained untouched.

Elayne closed her eyes a moment, murmuring aloud, "Why is it everything supernatural has to happen here? I'm starting to think this place is a hub or something."

She let out another sigh, as of late the spirits had been very restless. Instead of relaying information for loved ones, they had been relaying warnings specifically directed to her. They were mentioning something about the return of a great evil, and that unless the forces of good stood up to it, all would be lost. As if that helped her any; considering a "great evil" liked to lay siege to Japan at least once a year if not more than that. Then again things had been rather quiet lately; maybe the world was due for a new demon. She understood part of why she was getting these messages, she was in some measure related to a Sailor Senshi, and she was aware of the others existence in her world. But couldn't the spirits go bother them instead? They probably would if they had the ability, she reasoned; the problem was the only one with any spiritual sense was Rei, but she was a miko. She received visions and warnings by a different means than Elayne did.

Elayne bit back a yawn, trying to figure out why she was thinking about the Scouts, it's not like she was on good terms with them either. Well she could hang around Trista, Hotaru, Lita and Ami without any problems; she liked the other girls but Elayne did have a tendency to clash heads with them. Then again most people tended to treat the girl according to how she looked, and while she may look only sixteen she was in fact eighteen. What she would have given to have a normal family, that didn't pass down quirky attributes to their offspring.

Currently, the girl was making her way to the west-wing kitchen which served those that lived on that side of the building. There were four floors to the Shinwako Estate; no one ever used the fourth floor for anything though. The east wing, on the other hand, served as the commercial section. On the third floor, several men owned and operated an insurance agency. The second floor was a co-op between the men and women who adored children, and they ran a daycare service. On the first floor (ground level), several of the residents who lived for cooking, operated a restaurant. Elayne had no clue why they used half the place for living space and the other half for business, if she ever got full control of the Estate she had plans to do something about that as well as the outrageous rent they charged residents.

The girl finally made it down the stairs, and slowly walked to the kitchen, _'Why do I have the feeling it's going to be one of those days?'_

* * *

**5:17 a.m. **

A young woman with fiery red-hair tried to quiet the pots she had disturbed, as another hissed in annoyance, "Quit banging those pots!"

She responded carefully shoving curly red bangs aside, "It's not my fault its dark in here."

Here the other had to roll her emerald green eyes, "Vanessa you're going to wake-up the entire house with that racket!"

As Vanessa Eytinge opened her mouth to shoot out a retort, a voice asked curiously, "Are we at it again, ladies?"

Both paused to look over at Elayne who had entered the kitchen as silent as shadow, they then blinked as the girl threw on the lights.

"You might actually want to see what you're cooking," the girl offered, snatching an apple from the fruit basket on the counter.

Aurora Wimund settled to glare at the woman trying to cook, for having awoken the girl.

Elayne noticed the look, and scoffed at the blonde, "Oh please, I sleep on the third floor, and didn't know anyone was in here until I entered the kitchen."

The red-head beamed, and then went back to the task at hand, preparing an early breakfast at the request of her best friend, who had yet to enter the kitchen.

_'Another cast of characters I ended up with,'_ Elayne thought with a small grin.

Aurora was twenty-years old, but you'd never know it just basing it off her personality. She had the worst temper in the world, so making her mad was not an option. She really put Rei to shame in that department, Elayne thought to herself with a snicker. Aurora was an outdoors type of person, and very much the nature nut. The woman would walk in the forest behind the Estate for hours on end. She was also very into martial arts, having taken some while she still lived in America. For the most part the platinum blonde tended to be quiet and reserved, though she often dressed in flashy clothes. Her choice style being a camisole and slacks, and it was always in some shade of green.

Now, Vanessa couldn't have been more different, Elayne reasoned in her head. The woman was two months older than her blonde friend, making her the second youngest of the group. The red-head was a true live-wire at any and all social gatherings. She was the one up there meeting new people, and having a great time with those she already knew. Vanessa was also a fighter, she had taken more self-defense classes than Elayne could even begin to keep track of. The woman often reminded Elayne of the ocean coming in at high-tide, though the girl was starting to think she only used this analogy because the red-head was the beach-going type.

Aurora was the 'green-queen?' Well Vanessa was the water maiden; she was always wearing some form of ocean blue or another. Elayne tried not to roll her eyes, it wouldn't have killed them to wear different colors every once in a while.

Elayne watched as the two women bustled back and forth in the kitchen, both were decent cooks but Aurora got more enjoyment out of it than the red-head.

The girl quickly shot a glance to the door, as someone else entered the kitchen.

Kirstin Blair tried vainly to rub the sleep from her teal-eyes, though knowing it was her stomach's fault she was up in the first place. She had forgotten to eat dinner the night before; something she was currently regretting. She had awoken the two cooks of the group, mainly because they had an appointment at seven they needed to keep. Getting up an extra hour early like this, would ensure they would be awake for it. Kirstin had been best friends with Vanessa ever since they were small; the two had practically grown up together and were inseparable.

Elayne studied the woman for a brief moment. Noting that as usual, Kirstin's long-wavy midnight blue hair highlighted in sky-blue was sticking out of the pony-tail she desperately tried to keep it in. What Elayne liked about Kirstin was the fact that she was such an easy-going person, and whenever things started to get out-of-hand she'd immediately step in as peace-keeper. No one messed with her friends and got a way with it, Kirstin was fiercely protective of those she knew, but that made Elayne feel better about hanging around the slightly older girls (she knew she wouldn't get picked on, because Kirs would end up protecting her).

Kirstin paused a minute, and frowned noting who else was awake, "Nightmare again, Layne?"

At this point the girl had finished with her apple, carefully discarding the core in the trash, "Ya, more or less."

Kirstin's frowned deepened, that wasn't a good sign; this had been going on for the past four days…Though it could've been going on longer, Elayne was a quiet person and didn't often speak out when something was bothering her.

Elayne furrowed her brows noting that Kirstin was also dressed, sporting her favorite burnt orange tank top, and beige slacks. It was awfully early for them to be _this_ presentable, maybe they had something important to do later though. The girl cast a look to the phone on the wall, and sighed in annoyance…If he didn't call she was going to strangle him. He had promised in a letter that he would call, and he always kept his promises! It just was not like him to say that he was going to do something, and then not do it.

Vanessa caught that Elayne was eyeing the phone, "Waiting for someone to call?"

"Mhm."

Aurora quirked an eyebrow at the girl, "It's only five-forty; no one in their right mind would be up this early."

"Are you implying that we're in our wrong-mind?" Kirstin asked with a frown.

The blonde smirked, "We didn't have minds to start with."

"You don't know my friend that well, he's always up early. He said he'd call a while back, but I have a feeling he'll call today…" Elayne quickly jumped up and grabbed the phone the minute it started to rang.

"You sleep in or something?" She teased in amusement, noting the fact he was calling five minutes later than normal.

The girl didn't have to wait for the person to state their name, there was only one being that would call someone this early in the morning. Most normal people were sleeping at this hour, and this guy was certainly not normal. Then again, most of the people Elayne knew fell very far from the line of normal.

"As a matter of fact," the male voice on the other end of the phone responded, "I did. I got to the hotel late last night."

"Hotel?" Elayne scrunched up her nose, "I thought you were back home in Sendai. Where are you now, Seiji-nii-chan?"

The swordsman of Halo paused a moment, turning his head to yawn, and then said into the phone, "I think you know what today is, and you can tell me where I am."

"No way!" Elayne cried in delight, "You're in Yokohama, that's great! I was heading that way to see the birthday-guy. I haven't seen him in two months, but I haven't seen you in what, four?"

Sage let out a chuckle, having almost forgotten what a bundle of energy the girl could be, "Sounds about right. You'll forgive me for not calling sooner, ne?"

"Ya I guess; was starting to think something happened," Elayne murmured, asking quickly, "Everything is all right, isn't it?"

"We'll talk about it later," The Ronin of Halo replied, catching the true meaning behind her words.

"Okay!" she agreed, inquiring, "I'll see you all later then?"

Sage chuckled again, "Yes, I suspect you will." He quickly held the phone away from his ear, as she let out a loud whoop for joy.

"An, I will speak with you later all right?" He queried, not quite sure if he had her attention back or not.

Elayne rolled her eyes, at the use of the formality; then again, she had called him by his formal name first, "Mhm, see ya in a few hours. And for pities sake, stop talking like some etiquette robot!"

"Okay okay!" Sage rolled his eyes in amusement, knowing if he didn't consent she'd go off on a rant about it (she normally did).

"Bye!" She hung up the phone, in a much better mood then when she had first woken up that morning.

* * *

**5:55 a.m. **

Sage placed the phone back into its cradle, shaking his head softly in mirth. He had known Elayne for quite a while, due to Nakahara-san's friendship with his grandfather.

At first he had thought of her as a nuisance, but she eventually grew on the swordsman. She and Satsuki had ended up hitting it off right away, so it was almost like Sage had been stuck with twin sisters to look after. However, Elayne had surprised him by demonstrating she could take care of herself. Deep down Sage enjoyed the fact that someone still looked up to him, Satsuki was on to other things now. Most of the time, he found himself wondering what had happened to the little girl that used to hang on his arm, and was all about her "nii-chan"…Oh well even Satsuki had to grow up sometime.

Elayne however seemed to refuse to forget about him like that, she was continually sending him letters and making phone calls to see if he was okay. Then again, she knew about what he was and his history…There was just no way to hide things of a mystical nature from the granddaughter of a shaman.

Sage came out of his thoughts, seeing a pair of deep-blue eyes glancing at him curiously.

"Was it necessary to call your girlfriend this early in the morning?"

Sage snorted, "I don't have a girlfriend anymore Ryo; I was calling my sister."

The Wildfire Ronin quirked a darkened eyebrow, "Since when did Satsuki go by 'An'?" He crossed his arms in front of his chest, waiting for an answer.

The swordsman tilted his head at the man, had he been listening to the _entire_ phone conversation? Here he was beginning to think Rowen was the ultimate eavesdropper, it looked as though Ryo could compete in that department now.

"Remember the girl I told you about? She considers me family, and I feel the same. Therefore she's my sister; how'd you get in here anyway?"

The man jerked his thumb to the open door behind him, "Cye managed to get us rooms connected to each other, remember? Came to see if you were awake yet."

"Well I am, and fully clothed," Sage answered, "Ready to go buy supplies, and then give the restaurant a face-lift whenever you are."

"Great!" Ryo cheerfully declared, before asking somewhat sheepishly, "Do you think you could help me get Rowen up? I've been trying for the past twenty minutes."

Sage let out a low moan; he should have seen that one coming.

* * *

Elayne had just managed to hang up the phone when, someone clearing their throat caught her attention. 

"How long are you going to be gone for?" Kirstin asked, having caught the fact the girl was leaving.

"A day or two? I have to go to Odawara too; don't think I'll get there today."

"Will you be back in time for our performance at the Exchange lounge?" Aurora's look conveyed a silent warning as to what would happen if her friend didn't show, "It is our last one for the year."

"Maybe," Elayne smirked, loving every minute of antagonizing the twenty-year old.

Vanessa merely shook her head in amusement, "You better show, or Callista will have a fit."

Here all four had to nod in agreement; Callista Griffith was the last member of the clique. After much poking and prodding from Elayne, they had gone through with starting their own band. It was something they had talked about doing before leaving the States, and they had needed some sort of hobby here…And that was that.

Callista was asleep at this unholy hour; the woman favored waking up at around ten in the morning. Every group had their resident genius, and Callie was no exception to that rule at all. Academically she came across as normal, but ask her about a favorite subject and she could blow you away with the scientific terms she knew. Elayne bit down a chuckle that reminded her of someone else she knew, though he was a brain both academically and non-academically.

Callista had short-choppy azure blue hair that rested a few inches above her shoulders, and her highlights were cerulean. She also had crisp coffee brown eyes, and always chose dark blue clothes to wear to reflect her love for the night sky. For the most part the four young women always dressed sharply, and made sure they were presentable to the public. They were well-mannered and very respectful to others, so that they would be viewed in a good light. Being foreigners, they did everything within their power to be viewed as close to native as possible…They knew Japanese culture in-and-out, granted they didn't always strictly adhere to it.

Elayne on the other hand, really didn't care all that much about what people thought of her. They could either take her as she was, or not deal with her at all. Of course, there were plenty of things she didn't like about herself that she would gladly change. Out of all the friends she had and all the people she knew, she was by far the shortest. Most of her female friends were all pretty close to the proper weight for their height, though Callista and Vanessa tended to go over a little in the winter months. Still that did little to change the fact that Elayne tended to stick out like a sore thumb next to any of her friends.

_'Only I would get stuck with living breathing anime characters,'_ she thought with an inward grumble.

She let out a low sigh, realizing she had spaced out on them, "I'll see if I can make it, okay?"

"Works for me," Aurora murmured, leaning back into her chair.

Kirstin smirked slightly, "Have a good time, and bring us back any cute guys you may find."

"Sure Kirs, sure," Elayne burst into giggles and left the kitchen.

She had a little over three hours to spare until she had to leave for the train station, so she decided to find something to do.

* * *

**9:15 a.m. **

Elayne carefully sped along the sidewalks on her roller-blades, avoiding passersby and making sure not to run any animals over in addition to that. She had managed to waste enough time working around the Estate, to keep her pre-occupied from waiting for time to pass (which had a way of making things take practically forever). A small smile soon played across her face, as she caught site of a group of people coming her way. Here she applied as much speed as humanly possible, causing the group to dive out of her way.

"Hey watch it!" Serena snapped, and then let out a sigh realizing who it was.

Elayne turned around, offering a non-to-apologetic look, "Sorry miss, but I had the right of way."

Rei raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Sure you did, Layne."

"Where's the fire?" Ami asked curiously, having noted how fast the girl had been going prior to trying to run them down.

The girl shrugged, "No fire today, at least not that I heard of."

The young man standing next to Serena spoke up now, "You are in a hurry though."

"Ah, I'm always in some type of hurry, Darien," Elayne offered with a small grin, "That's my life though."

Darien Shields chuckled, he was tall, and had short-cut black hair. Formerly a Prince, and in the future a King, he was an ally to the Senshi known as Tuxedo Mask, for lack of a better name.

The small child standing next to him, with an odd shade of pink-hair, the style done similar to Serena's, was Rini. The girl was from 30th century Crystal Tokyo as was the little kitten that served as her guardian, Diana. Rini was Darien and Serena's future daughter, making her a princess. Elayne couldn't believe that the three were related, since Rini acted nothing like either of her parents, if only in the eating and hardheadedness department.

"Where you going this time?" Rini asked with a slight huff.

Elayne smiled, she often babysat the younger girl, "Yokohama, just for a day or so. I'll be back as soon as I can, kay?"

The child gave a small nod, still not happy with the idea at all.

"Have fun!" Mina called out, after Elayne said goodbye and sped off once more.

Lita was frowning, "Might be a good thing that she's going, I have a feeling we're going to have trouble tonight."

"Yes, she may be versed in self-defense, but fighting demons is completely different than fighting humans," Luna noted wisely.

Serena's eyes widened, "Hush up," and she shoved the cat back down into her knapsack, "Someone will hear you!"

Luna gave a huff of her own, before settling down into a ball at the bottom of the knapsack.

* * *

_A/N: Again, thanks for the reviews minna. And to anyone else reading this hopefully I haven't confused you too badly. The reason I am including the type of "author's notes" I have is because I am hoping to answer any possible questions that may be asked. The further along the story you get the less you'll see these notes. I only comment when I think it's necessary._

_That being said, here's the notes for this chapter: _

_By now you know for certain that this is a RW & SM Cross-over. And my meaning of said definition is thus: I__t is first and foremost about the Ronins, and the Scouts are supporting characters (however unwilling they might be, lol). __I started writing TGOL long before I had the chance to watch the Sailor Stars season (the final season of BSSM that was not aired in the U.S. for those who don't know), but after watching it I reworked TGOL to include half of Stars (episodes 167-172). _

_Now, I have been working on this story since 2004, and you are getting it after it's sixth revision. I honestly can't make it any better than it is without having reader feedback. _

_Before anyone stomps on me: __Lindsay is not Japanese at all. Her widower father married into a family which lived in Japan; however, Lindsay (being Lindsay) did not change her last name. __As for the other characters, you might learn some more about them later on. But you won't learn much because this story isn't about them, it's about our five favorite guys in armor. ;)_

_ShinwaKo: "old myth"; Shinwa supposedly means 'myth', while Ko can mean a variety of things including 'old.' _


	4. Chapter 3: Surprises

**Key:**

'_text '_ thoughts/thought-speak; when a paragraph or more is italicized it means the scene is a flashback.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Three: Surprises**

**Yokohama, Japan; outskirts **

Elayne let out a groan, "Why is it taking so long? It's not that far away."

Her eyes once more roamed out the window, taking in the sights as they passed by. When was the last time she had been out of Tokyo, outside of business?

She furrowed her brows in thought; the people at the Estate always came up with some excuse as to why she shouldn't leave. She had gotten so tired of the nonsense, she now no longer told them when she was going, or where she was going.

"It'll be nice to see them again," her train of thought, had switched to that of a more pleasant one, "I haven't heard from the others in months..."

She paused, a frown creeping across her features, "And in a certain someone's case, years."

"It wouldn't happen to be me, now would it?" a voice inquired cheerfully.

"Ah, _Grandpa!_" Elayne bolted into a standing position, silently thankful she was the only one in this car, "You know I _HATE_ that!"

She turned her head, leveling a glare at the translucent figure beside her, "Besides, you talked to me last, not even three weeks ago."

Doctor Koji chuckled and pressed, "But didn't you miss me?"

"If your granddaughter had any clue about how you were acting," the girl suddenly paused, and then frowned once more, "What exactly are you doing here, anyway?"

He let out a sigh; he should've known she would want him to get straight to the point, "I learned that you were on your way to see her, and go over the information I had gathered on the matter you've been researching."

"The legend of the warriors in full, yes. Grandpa Eytinge had also gathered information on parts of the legend," she pulled out a floppy disc, "As well as members of my family, and believe it or not, Hino-sama and Date-sama."

"Are you certain?" the man seemed a bit surprised at this revelation.

Elayne vigorously nodded, "I went through some of their old family legend archives, they granted me permission to use whatever information I deemed necessary, so I copied what I needed. Everything is in chronological order too, so with the information you gathered, it'll _'fit'_ in."

"If I remember right," Doctor Koji was frowning as he thought things over, "I have it coded, and double locked. I'll inform you of the passwords when you get there."

"Thank you Grandfather," Elayne gave a polite nod of her head to the older man, "Want me to pass anything along?"

"Yes, please tell Mia I'm very proud of her, and I, and her parents, approve."

Elayne gave a yelp of delight, "Oh I knew you all would, wait till I tell her!"

With one last chuckle, the spirit of Doctor Koji vanished.

* * *

"Oh great, was it a left, or a right?" the girl now paused, trying vainly to remember which way to go.

She had gotten off at the right spot, she just couldn't remember the way; it had been too long.

Elayne shrugged, "Might as well wing it."

She slowly cruised down the streets, noting that they were nowhere near as crowded as Tokyo's. That didn't matter; she went rather slowly to make sure not to run into anyone.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught something, and came to a pause turning around to get a better look.

"No way," she murmured to herself, blinking in surprise.

A tall lanky boy of about seventeen, with light blue eyes, and unruly brown hair was performing tricks on an old beat-up blue skateboard. He was absorbed in his performance, not paying attention to his surroundings that much.

Elayne smirked, a thought coming to her, _'Oh this is going to be way too easy.'_

The girl picked up speed, using a downed sign as a ramp, and sailed over the railing the young boy had been practicing on.

"AH!" he ducked, though she was nowhere near him, "Are you out of your mind?"

She turned around and tilted her head at him, "Why are you asking, you know the answer to that one."

Realization dawned on him slowly, and his face brightened, "Laney, awesome to see you!"

He exchanged hi-fives with the girl, quickly inquiring, "What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same thing, your house isn't anywhere near here, Yulie," she quickly pointed out, with a slight wink, "I'm stopping by to pay somebody a visit."

"Really?" a grin was on his face, "Me too, rather prank _someone's_ apartment."

Elayne burst into her quiet child-like laugh; Yulie Yamano was far different from the eight-year-old tagalong that the Ronins had first dealt with. All the time spent with his 'oniichan's' had certainly helped shape the young man.

He had been the kendo tournament champion at the age of eleven, and had a repeat performance the next year, had managed to maintain straight 'A's so far in school, and could actually cook a decent meal. Unfortunately, he had Ryo's sense of humor, and Kento's knack for pulling pranks.

Or that's what she had managed to gather from their letters back and forth...And as for the last two, well she had previously witnessed those.

"Well, better get going," Yulie winked, "Mom wants me to run some errands, baibai!"

"See ya later!" Elayne hollered to his retreating form, "Run some errands? Ya, he just wants to run and get out of town so Kento won't figure out who got to his apartment. Those guys created a monster."

The girl thought about it for a minute, and smirked, "Actually, two if you want to count me."

* * *

"Ha, see, I still know how to get around," Elayne had a smile of satisfaction on her face, as she eyed the restaurant across the street.

It had taken her only ten minutes to find her way to this place, after locating familiar landmarks. She had quickly changed into street shoes, tossing the roller blades into the knapsack for later.

Elayne watched as a young woman walked past her, pausing to look after her. A frown came to the girl's face, having been able to place the person, _'Wow, Mia sure looks different.'_

A stray thought in the back of her mind nagged her to follow after the young woman, so they could discuss the matter now, but she knew that it had to wait.

One of the spirits that had contacted her about a week before had said that the Ronins needed to be present, and she had no doubt they would be there.

Elayne could slightly detect the presence of dark energy, and if she could, then she knew the Ronins had already fully sensed it.

She continued along this line of thought, as she entered the restaurant. She noticed the sign that read for people to seat themselves, and grabbed a menu while she was at it. She looked around briefly before sliding into a booth, quickly pulling up the menu to hide her face.

Elayne let out a small sigh, in a few hours things would again change and the warriors she knew would once more have to stand up and fight. It just wasn't fair! They were entitled to normal lives, after everything they had been through, all they had done for the planet…They deserved to be left alone!

_'Why do I always have to be the bearer of bad news?' _a scowl formed on her face, _'You think spirits that important could contact a more qualified seer? But no, they choose little ole me, just because I know the good guys. Sometimes I can't help but feel someone, or something caused me to know who I do. It's too much to be just coincidence, far too much. In any case? I hate my life.'_

"Welcome, how can I serve you today?" Rinfi asked in a voice one uses when they are beyond beat, and just being cheerful because it's required.

Elayne came out of her thoughts, chuckling, "The usual."

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you," the young Chinese woman shifted uncomfortably, praying she wouldn't get in trouble. She had dealt with a handful of customers like that today, and the day was far from over.

"Well now," the girl put down her menu, and smirked, "You aren't going deaf on me, are you Rinfi?"

In her surprise Rinfi came very close to dropping her pen and pad, "An-san! It's so good to see you! What are you doing here?"

Elayne winked and responded with, "Take a guess, what is today's date?"

"You remembered?" Rinfi blinked a couple of times before smiling.

"Mhm. I missed out on the last couple, but there was no way I was going to let it happen again. I'm assuming he's in the reserved room?"

The young woman nodded, adding, "I'll tell Mother and Father that you're here, if you'd like."

"Actually, how about you and I go make that announcement?" Elayne cheerfully put down the menu, and hopped up out of her seat.

* * *

After being subjected to plenty of hugs, and the longest questioning period of all time, Elayne carefully made her way up the stairs. One thing you had to love about Kento's family? If you hadn't seen them in three or four years, expect to receive everything short of a welcome banner upon your return.

She had to chuckle at that, over the years she too, had become apart of the family...But then again adults always managed to 'adopt' her for some reason or another. She figured it was only because they didn't have to deal with her for all of their waking hours.

Yes, she nodded to herself that had to be it. Why else would anyone want to be bothered with her?

Now the girl crept along the hallway like a cat, taking moments to pause and listen with strained ears to the conversations taking place between the occupants of the room.

Elayne had not been surprised when Mama Faun had said that Cye was not the only 'friend' in the room; after all, Sage had confirmed for her earlier that they'd all be there.

She couldn't help but be nervous though, especially if…She vigorously shook her head. _'Okay, Catarina,' _she mentally scolded herself,_ 'Hold your wretched Italian temper and keep your mouth shut, for once in your life.'_

She was at the doors now, and hesitantly reached out and put her hand on the handle, and slid the doors open a crack so she could evaluate the situation.

A handsome young auburn man and equally attractive blonde were sitting at one of the tables having an arm wrestling match.

The blonde was dressed sharply, in an off-beige suite; the jacket hanging on the chair allowing him the freedom to move his limb effectively.

It looked as though the auburn man was having a better time in the brown-plaid jacket he was wearing; it was well-worn so it had to be one of his favorite suites.

Elayne blinked several times in surprise, _'Cye and Sage look so grown-up! Shesh, it can't have been that long since I saw them last.'_

A frown adorned her face realizing that it had been a while, but was quickly replaced with a small smirk;_ 'And to think, they're having an arm-wrestling match. If that doesn't beat all.'_

She allowed her eyes to flicker over the room slowly, coming to rest on the two individuals by the window.

If it hadn't been for the sharp blue hair, she probably wouldn't have recognized the young man dressed in a black suite. He was rambling off on some scientific topic, as she caught several words far too big for normal everyday use in the speech he was currently giving.

The young man turned around briefly to glance at the on-going match, he slightly quirked an eyebrow at the pair, before going back to his conversation.

'_Man, my jaw must be so on the floor right now,' _she thought to herself with a wry grin, it soon faded when she saw the person standing next to Rowen.

She let the doors slide close, and took a few deep breaths; she had been preparing herself for over two weeks for this...But she guessed she still wasn't ready.

The only thing that hadn't changed about the young man she had seen was his startling-blue eyes. Those spoke volumes about his soul, and heart...They always had, and probably always would.

'_Oh you ninny, get a hold of yourself,' _she instantly reprimanded, sliding the doors open, not bothering to glance in Ryo's direction again.

Her eyes lingered on the form of Kento, who was sitting by himself at the table not to far away from the door. And as her luck would have it, his back was turned.

She took a general scan of the room again, and then slipped in; being careful to keep exceedingly quiet, as to not alert the five young men to her presence.

'_So much for being the great and mighty Ronin Warriors,' _she thought with a slight smirk, _'I could've come in here with a symphony and they still wouldn't have noticed.'_

Elayne paused and studied Kento for a minute or two, before sliding her hands over his eyes, _'He shouldn't make this so easy.'_

Kento took in a sharp breath, demanding quickly, "What the...?"

"Now, now," a feminine voice scolded, cutting him off, "I just wanted to see the old man, and tell him happy birthday. It doesn't require profanity."

"Hey!" the Ronin of Hardrock managed to pry her hands off his eyes, and looked up, "I don't believe it!"

The girl smirked, retorting quickly, "You only believe it if it's edible."

Just for that remark, Kento got up grabbing her in one of his effective bear hugs, and swung her up off the floor.

"ECK! Kento-kun put me down!" she yelped in surprise, eyes squeezed closed as tightly as possible.

Cye had quickly managed to win the arm-wrestling match, by taking advantage of Sage being distracted. Now he stood, trying to place the voice and face, it was familiar in a way.

Sage was watching the scene as well, having heard Kento's outburst had caused him to tense and throw his attention that way. Now as he stood watching, he was trying to place when the last time he had heard that voice was, and immediately the conversation from this morning replayed itself in his head.

Rowen and Ryo had paused in their talk, quickly whirling around, but they were too at a loss, for the moment.

Kento chuckled, inquiring with a grin, "How do you ask, nicely?"

"Oh fine," Elayne pouted, but then wailed in a highly pitiful voice, "_CYE!_ Help me!"

The Water Ronin tried very hard not to burst out laughing, all it took was that remark, and he knew exactly who he was dealing with.

He took a few steps forward, clearing his throat, "Kento? Put her down."

"Aw, come on..."

"Kento," Cye warned, giving his best friend a pointed glare.

Hardrock's bearer grinned, and put the girl down stating, "You two just aren't any fun."

"Ha, that's your opinion," she then turned her full attention to Cye, dramatically throwing her arms about his neck, declaring, "My _HERO_!"

Kento began laughing almost immediately; while Cye merely chuckled and disentangled himself from her death grip.

"You're a real trip," the Water Ronin shook his head, "You haven't changed at all."

Elayne smiled, and winked, "Now tell me, what fun would changing be? And why haven't you called me?"

Cye winced a little, at her sharp tone, "Sorry, been busy."

She sniffed, though she was still playing, "You use that excuse all the time!"

Rowen was frowning; who the heck was this girl? Why did she seem so familiar to him, and how did she know Cye and Kento?

Elayne turned around so that she was facing the Ronins of Strata and Halo, offering a grin at them both, and placing her hands on her hips; "Well, I'm just so glad to see you guys too."

Sage had figured it was her all along, but that didn't stop him from being surprised, "An?"

"Hello, Oniichan!" came her response, as she gave him a quick hug, "Did you miss me?"

Sage laughed and shook his head suppressing the rest of his mirth, "Of course. I noticed a sharp decline in the blind dates."

Elayne stuck her tongue out at him, "I could've been mean and set you up with those brainless girls that used to 'flock' around you in high school. Count your blessings, I didn't."

"I count them every day," the blonde swordsman retorted, a smirk alighting his features.

The girl kept her response to herself, as she turned hazel-violet eyes to the Ronin of Strata.

"Well, look who finally decided to grow-up like the rest of us," Rowen gently teased, with a grin.

Elayne snickered under her breath before launching herself at him, effectively knocking the unsuspecting Ronin to the ground.

"Ack!" he yelped in surprise.

"_RO-CHAN_!" she squealed for added effect, and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

Kento and Cye immediately burst into laughter, since the look on the archer's face was too priceless.

Midnight-blue eyes were widened in both confusion and shock at being more or less tackled to the ground, and they were slightly bulging since their owner was being squeezed to death.

Sage was chuckling, unable to keep a straight face, "What was that about her growing-up?"

Elayne rolled off the stunned Strata Ronin, in hysteric giggles, "I couldn't resist the chance to do that," she turned and playfully bopped him on the head, "That my beloved blue-haired brother was for the oh-so-intelligent comment you made the last time we saw one another."

Even this Rowen had to laugh at, albeit a bit embarrassedly, "How'd I know you'd get me back for that?"

The girl shrugged and got to her feet, offering, "Maybe because I usually get you back for your too-smart comments?"

Kento snorted back a laugh, "Glad somebody does."

"It's great to see you guys, at least now I don't have to go hunting you down," here she became a little more serious, "Which wouldn't have been easy, since you guys hate to return letters or phone calls."

Each man winced slightly, knowing that they were more or less effectively sunk now. One thing hadn't changed; the girl went from loving-sister to disciplinary-sibling quite fast.

The girl crossed her arms in front of her chest, "Is it really _THAT_ difficult to pick up a phone? Or, _HARD_ to mail out a one sentence letter??"

"Aww come on mei mei," Kento started, but then stopped upon seeing the death glare he was getting.

"Kento Rei Faun," Elayne said tersely, "I have not heard from a one of you, except Sage, in two months!! _EXACTLY_ two months."

The girl leaned against a chair for support, a scowl on her face, "Before your disappearance you each left me a message saying to the effect that you felt something was up." She threw her hands up in the air, "Honestly you guys!! With your life-style, what the heck was I supposed to think?"

"I'm sorry," Rowen apologized softly, "But we have been..."

"Ro, it takes two minutes to dial my phone number, and a _'Hi, I'm still alive.'_ would've more than sufficed," She tried to lighten the mood a little by adding, "Ya know, the 'busy' excuse only works for so long? Once you hear it for the fiftieth time, it really doesn't work all that well."

Cye shook his head biting back a chuckle, "Are you mad at us or not?"

"Pah, it's impossible to be mad at you guys. I was just worried, and venting my frustration," here she smirked, "With my temper, you're lucky I was venting."

Sage merely chuckled at her antics, "Hate to see what you call yelling."

Ryo watched the events unfold before him cautiously; wariness evident in his overall body stance, in addition to his face.

Whereas it had taken the others several minutes to identify the girl, all he had needed to see was those unusual colored eyes to place the person.

It was someone he thought he would never see again, and somehow he wasn't surprised that she knew the other four Ronins.

As he recalled, even as a child she was good at picking out those with unique auras, but it was easily put off on the odd family heirloom that she constantly wore around her neck.

The Ronin of Wildfire spied the black-crystalline jewel immediately, she rarely had gone anywhere without it, it was obvious that hadn't changed either.

He had more or less withdrawn to the corner of the room, while the others greeted the newcomer, to watch and wait.

Ryo inwardly grimaced, _'I am so dead.'_

_'You haven't the faintest idea,' _a feminine voice replied, having caught the thought.

He blinked a few times in confusion, she even sounded different!

A few moments later the greetings had ended, and four pairs of eyes had darted around the room before spying their leader.

* * *

_A/n: Sorry for the lateness; forgot to update got busy, I hope it was worth the wait. Seeing as how you'll end up with two new chapters._

_1 -sama: is a suffix used to denote high respect; Elayne is using it in the context of age difference._

_2 Mei Mei: Chinese for 'little sister' (Being the son of Chinese immigrants and clan heir, Kento would undoubtedly have to know the Chinese language) Further proof that Kento is smart; he's trilingual!_


	5. Chapter 4: Ronins To Arms

**Chapter Four: **

**Rewritten 6/17/05 **

"**Ronins To Arms"**

Cye now arched an eyebrow at the hiding form, as the young man reluctantly came forward.

Elayne, on the other hand, was busy pretending to adjust her watch so she didn't have to look at the Ronin of Wildfire.

Sage nudged the girl in the ribs, in the hopes that she'd look up. Once having her attention he frowned at her letting her know she was being rude.

All she did was tilt her head at the Halo Ronin blink a few times, sit down in an already pulled out chair, and went right back to adjusting her watch.

Ryo took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, "Hey, Elayne."

"Hi Ry-chan," She took off the watch, and pounded it against the table a few times, "Ha, I knew the battery was lose!"

Satisfied with her accomplishment she put it back on her wrist, and then quirked her eyebrows at the five silent young men, "What?"

"Noth….nothing," Rowen responded slowly, taking a seat.

"Okay, you never stutter," the girl stretched, "So what mental conversation are you five having that's so pre-occupying?"

Elayne was aware of the changes the newer armors had subsequently brought about, having been told by one Ronin or another at some point; the ability for mental communication was just one of them.

Mia seemed to think that the ability had been given by the original armors, and that the newer set merely made telepathic communication even easier to accomplish which was why the five young men had picked it up. Elayne was inclined to agree with that theory; her seer abilities enabled her to sense certain things. So she could tell that the link between the five was stronger, and could also sense the armors presence much easier than before.

Then again, maybe that was just a sign of her growing up and coming into her family's power, but she highly doubted it. Mia's theory just seemed more logical; the newer armors were devoid of Talpa's evil influence thus making them stronger as well as enabling them to better link with their bearers.Elayne had to hand it to the auburn-haired woman, who always had an answer for everything; most days she wished she was half-as-smart.

"Elayne!" Sage scolded as he and the others sat down, "Are you reading our thoughts?"

The girl shook her head to the negative; the jewel about her neck often enabled her to catch when the Ronins were conversing and most times their thoughts in general (depending on how loud they were projecting said thoughts).

Getting dubious looks she said calmly, "No, but you're exceedingly quiet, and have the whole faraway look going on. Unless you guys are a little worried about what just happened to mister watch, which I doubt."

She paused, "I mean it's not like I was bashing someone's head against the table…" at this time she let her eyes linger on Ryo, "But it can be arranged."

Cye had already sensed the tension between the two; her statement was further proof that there was an underlying issue there.

To lighten the situation, he asked with a chuckle, "What did you do Ryo? Stand her up?"

The other three Ronin snickered under their breaths' as Wildfire's bearer leveled a dark glare at the Warrior of Trust.

"Cye dear, you couldn't pay me enough," Elayne shifted her focus to the other four with a grin, "Heck; you couldn't pay me to date Sage."

This earned laughs from everyone, and Ryo let himself relax a bit, however he tensed the minute he saw Elayne's startling eyes glaring at him in a less than pleased fashion.

'_You and I will settle our squabble, when they aren't around,' _she thought to him quietly.

He gave a slight nod of acknowledgement, _'Ya, I don't want to drag them into the middle.'_

'_Me either,'_ Elayne murmured back.

* * *

"Hmm, how long has it been?" Cye absently wondered aloud, trying to figure out when the last time he had seen the girl had been. 

Elayne frowned thoughtfully; she did a minor calculation in her head, "Hm, the last time the five of us were in the same room? Seven years ago. The last time I saw you was March of last year I think, saw Kento two months ago, Sage four months ago, and Rowen's been avoiding me for two years," she then pointed to Ryo, "Nine in his case. Please, don't ask."

The four young men merely nodded in response, each making a mental note to bug Ryo about this later on.

"I haven't been avoiding you, school is tiring," Rowen said in defense of himself; he then smirked inquiring, "What trouble have you managed to get yourself into since our last meeting?"

"Hmm, not much. The Estate is sill in one-piece, almost at full capacity for residents…Lindsay did another one of her vanishing acts, so I haven't heard from her in about three months. She can stay missing for all I care," the girl ended her sentence on a flat note.

Ryo let out a slight chuckle, "You still haven't got around to decking her yet; have you?"

"No, but you're still first on the list, and I like doing things in order," she shot to him, a grin on her face.

The Ronin of Wildfire quirked an eyebrow smugly stating, "You wouldn't last two minutes."

"Ha," Elayne let out a small laugh, "Don't bet your armor on it."

The young man let out a laugh of his own, and shook his head, "I don't have to bet, because I know better."

"Uhuh," The girl nodded, "You keep telling yourself that one."

Kento arched his eyebrows at the pair, "Please tell me you two aren't always like this?"

"Okay," Elayne leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling, "I won't."

Sage let out a long sigh, he had always thought Elayne had known the Ronin leader, and didn't it make perfect sense that she couldn't get along with him?

'_Oh we get along most of the time,' _her voice intruded into his thoughts,_ 'I'm just being a twit. I haven't seen or talked to him in nine years. This is what is known as payback.'_

The swordsman gave a roll of his violet eyes, _'Why does that not surprise me?'_

'_Smart-alec,' _she responded, and then asked aloud, to shift the attention she was getting elsewhere, "What trouble have you guys managed to get yourselves into since our last talk, hmm?"

The bearer of Torrent idly drummed his fingers on the table, "Well, I decided to move back to the Tokyo area, did that during the first week of August. Mum and Sayoko really don't need me with Ryuusuke helping them out. I got my Bachelor's in Marine Studies, but I still have been unable to find a job that's caught my interest."

Elayne nodded in understanding, she knew Cye was looking for something specific; she turned her attention to Sage who had cleared his throat, signaling he was going to speak next.

"Well," the swordsman leaned back in his chair, so that the front legs came off the ground, "I resigned from my position at the office."

"_WHAT?_" Five voices cried in complete astonishment, Elayne's being the loudest. Sage had been working at a well-respected business near Sendai while going for a degree in business administration.

She knew he had gotten the degree, but couldn't believe that he had quit the job, considering how much trouble he had gone through to get it. It had taken him long to get even minimal approval from his grandfather. Then there was the added fact that some time later they had gotten into a rather large argument. The fight almost resulted in Sage being disowned by the old man, and though things were somewhat stable now that relationship was still rocky…

Elayne inwardly winced, pitying anyone at the Date household who was nearby Date-sama when he heard that Sage quit; the man was going to go ballistic. Calm and well-mannered Grandfather Date might be, however he was where Sage got the temper and rebellious attitude from...Like anyone wouldn't have been able to guess that.

Rowen blinked a few times, "And enlighten us, when did you pull that intelligent stunt?"

The Ronin of Halo smirked at his best friend, "Yesterday. Why don't you tell them you're intelligent stunt?"

"Wah…what intelligent stunt?" Rowen asked in confusion, "I don't know what you're talking about Sage."

"Sure you don't," here a chuckle escaped him, "Mr. I'm-not-enrolling for the next semester of college."

"Oh that," the blue-haired man shrugged nonchalantly, "So what?"

"Rowen! I don't believe you," Ryo shook his head in a slight scolding manner.

Out of them all, Rowen never had a set major when he entered college. Just before the Strata Ronin would have almost all the credits needed to get a degree, the man would proceed to change his mind and go for something else. This didn't really surprise any of the Ronins, each knowing how much Rowen loved to learn. The way Ryo saw it? The guy would probably be in college for the rest of his life if he could.

Wildfire's bearer frowned and looked at his comrades; "Why?"

The archer merely shrugged in response, as did the swordsman; both unwilling to broach the subject weighing heavily in the back of their minds. Cye didn't even make motion to acknowledge the question, figuring Ryo wasn't speaking to him…After all, his choice to move hadn't been that radical of a decision, or had it?

Kento was deeply frowning, it was all-too obvious to him as to why the three had made those choices; _'Great, so they feel something is up as well.'_

He blinked a few times, before realizing everyone was waiting for him to speak.

"Oh me?" The Hardrock Ronin carelessly stretched, "Same old, same old. Split my time between helping out here, and doing all the accounting work for the chain."

Rowen gave an inward chuckle, _'I still can't get over the fact that he actually decided to do accounting.'_

'_That he actually decided, or that he can actually do it?' _Elayne questioned, in a smug sounding voice.

'_I hate when you do that,' _the archer grumbled referring to her telepathy skill, answering, _'Maybe it's both.'_

The girl slightly shrugged, _'It isn't my fault you're broadcasting your thoughts loud enough for the dead to hear them. And, you know as well as I do that Kento is a heck of a lot smarter than he likes to let on.'_

* * *

"Earth to Ryo?? Hullo in there?" Cye called, and waved his hand in front of the Wildfire Ronin's face. 

"Wh…What?" He asked slowly, coming out of his thoughts.

"That's your second zoning trip within the past twenty minutes," Rowen chuckled, "Space is my area, not yours."

He gave a roll of his deep-blue eyes, "Funny, Ro, real funny."

"Well?" Elayne inquired, raising an eyebrow at the Ronin leader.

Ryo merely returned her look with one of his own, "Why do you want to know?"

The girl opened her mouth and shut it with a snap; then said, "Nope, never mind. I'm not going to say a word."

Cye chuckled, "Seems you've learned some restraint after all these years, eh?"

"Not really," she grinned a little, "I just don't want to say something that mean in front of you guys, because you'll end up scolding me like you normally do."

They laughed a little at that, before the room went deathly silently…As its occupants lingered on the thoughts currently plaguing their minds.

Elayne couldn't help but frown at the tension in the room, there was something wrong with this entire picture…And as she now recalled the last messages she had received from the four young men, she scowled. Figuring in Sage's telephone call earlier that morning…The scowl on her face deepened.

'_So, they had to have seen or felt something…And by the looks on their faces they had to have seen something.' _

Unless one had known the five for awhile it would've been hard to tell that there were worry lines on each face, but she could make them out quite clearly.

Whether it was due to the unique jewel she wore, or a normal sixth sense, it was hard to say...All she knew for certain was that something was amiss.

"Okay," She broke the sudden silence, as it was starting to drive her crazy, "Who wants to fess up first?"

"Huh?" Sage murmured out in confusion, abruptly coming out of his thoughts.

Elayne rolled her eyes skyward, letting them linger on the ceiling for a minute or two, before settling her gaze on the Halo Ronin, "Sage, the tension in this room is too thick for a knife to cut through. The drastic changes to your lifestyles within the past few weeks," She looked to Rowen and Cye, then back to him before continuing, "The fact that your faces all show an obvious lack of sleep; clearly point to one of two things happening."

"Go on, we're listening," Ryo mumbled, stifling a yawn. She just had to remind him of how little sleep he was getting, now didn't she?

"One, you guys sensed something," She paused letting this settle in, "Or two, you've each seen something. And if it isn't one of those, it's both. So who wants to come clean?"

Ryo swore softly to himself, blast that stupid heirloom of hers! The trinket she wore had heightened somewhat normal abilities and made them a fraction stronger.

It was just enough to make her more than normal, and slightly less than the spectrum they were on…But, it did put her close enough to their level that she could catch things others wouldn't.

In this case though, the girl wasn't relying on her extra senses she was only basing her observations on what she knew about them. After all, she had known them for a long time, and before they became Ronin Warriors.

Interminable silence was her reward for stating what was going, but Elayne decided to wait, and only speak further if one of them refused to do it.

That was quite possibly going to happen; she knew full well that unless an outside source gave a gentle push, nothing would ever be accomplished.

In other words, not a one of the Ronins would break and tell what was going on right away. Not unless he had absolute proof that something bad was going to happen…Why get paranoid over nothing?

* * *

Ryo frowned thoughtfully now, debating whether or not to say what was plaguing him. No, why should he? Was he really willing to admit that they would have another fight on their hands? Could that really be true after four years of peace? 

But deep down he knew it was, he had been waiting for the next and final fight to come. His armor had not let him forget that there was one more fight on the way, nor had his heart.

Yes, he was aware he would have to fight again, but did he have to drag the others along? Was it really fair to them, after gaining normal lives, to have them fight? Oh he knew they would join him in an instant, but he didn't know if he should ask…If he could bring himself to do that.

He let out a small sigh, deciding to remain silent for now. He didn't wish to be the one to bring this up, no let one of them do it…The Wildfire Ronin didn't want to force anything on a one of them. They were his friends, his companions, and his brothers; if he could spare them from more fighting he would do it in a heartbeat.

Sage's eyes were shut tightly, he wondered if he should tell them all about the dream he had been having. Somehow he didn't think he could bring himself to do it.

It had been quiet for so long, his life had been almost normal…But, could their lives ever be truly normal? No, he suspected that the lives they led could never be truly normal.

He briefly opened his eyes and looked to his leader, whose arms were crossed in front of his chest, his head slightly bent downward.

Ryo had already made his decision, that was all too obvious to him, and now the young man was sitting quietly allowing them to think it over for themselves. The blonde swordsman couldn't help but grin at that, Ryo really did try to keep them out of harms way.

There was no way he was going to let Wildfire's bearer fight this alone, didn't the changes in his own lifestyle prove he was ready to fight if he had to? Hadn't he conveyed to Elayne earlier that morning that something was up?

Well, no matter what was coming the Ronin of Halo was not going to be left out. He was in for as long as he had to be, and perhaps even longer.

Kento let out a prolonged sigh, and tapped his fingers against the table, should he speak up? Maybe he should…Though he was more of a fighter than anyone else in the group, didn't necessarily mean he wanted to fight again.

The thought had been nagging him at a lot lately, and that bizarre dream? It was driving him insane, what was coming? That's all he wanted to know! Was it to be a new beginning for them, or the final ending?

He hung his head for a minute, thinking it all over once more. He wasn't a coward, and he wasn't going to run from anything that came at him or his friends. If the others were going to fight again, so was he…It beat handling everything by himself by a long shot.

Hardrock's bearer glanced around the table, noting that Ryo and Sage seemed to have already made up their minds. The two seemed to be having some sort of telepathic conversation, and Kento left them to it. Now wasn't a good time to be eavesdropping, it was better if everyone made up their own minds.

Cye continued to stare in front of him not really seeing; he was far too deep in thought.

It would fit that the girl would so quickly place what was going on, though maybe that was partially their fault…From what he knew she had known them all for most of her life (in Ryo's case he could only guess), so besides their respective families she'd be one of the first people to know something was wrong.

He turned his attention to more important things…Fighting, again. The Torrent Ronin let out a loose breath, before sharply inhaling his eyes narrowing as he thought it all over.

Could he deny the fact a new battle was coming? No, he knew it was not far around the corner. Suzunagi hadn't left the new armors with them, and these new abilities wouldn't have developed if it was over.

A frown slightly framed his face, as he thought about their newly acquired techniques. The five of them could now telepathically communicate with each other, through what they termed the 'armor link.' Such communication was possible so long as they were within a mile of each other.

Each of them could clearly identify where a negative presence was, when before all they had been able to sense was its general location. However, he and Sage tended to be able to pick up on such disturbances first.

Cye could easily identify his friends by their aura as well as general sense alone; something he'd never quite been able to do before. In a way it was unnerving, but in another it was comforting. At least for this fight, he was sure they would be prepared. He took comfort in that, and the fact that he wouldn't be fighting alone. If the world needed him than Cye Mouri would most assuredly deliver, he would fight to protect those he loved and cared about.

Rowen had his eyes on the ceiling; it almost appeared as though he were asking the heavens above for some sort of sign.

So, back to this again was it? Oh he wasn't surprised; his main reason for not re-enrolling was because he knew something was coming. He didn't think he'd be able to handle his hard studies on-top of facing off with whatever bad guy decided to show his ugly mug.

There had been a lull before the storm for the past three weeks now, and he was sure the others had felt it. With the silence that now plagued this room, he was beyond certain his friends were aware something was going on.

Well, the Ronin of Strata leaned back into his chair; it was just one more hurdle in the never ending race of good versus evil, wasn't it? Not like he was going to complain, a part of him missed the 'old days.' No, he didn't really miss the fighting for his life part, but he did miss having the constant presence of his brothers-in-arms...And he suspected each of the others felt the same.

Now, as to who was going to break this tentative silence? Well, it certainly wasn't going to be him.

* * *

The girl grimaced, what on earth was she supposed to do now? No spirit had said a thing about how to gently press the issue, without giving anything away. She knew it was going to take the guys time to come to terms with the possibility of having to fight again, but she wasn't sure how much time they had…The warnings she'd been given pointed to something happening late that night or tomorrow. 

Suddenly Elayne felt a chill go up her spine, and she inwardly shuddered…Someone was trying to contact her.

The black jewel around her neck glowed slightly, and Elayne tentatively reached out, _'Who's there?'_

'_Oh just me,' _A soft feminine voice slyly replied.

Elayne inwardly scowled recognizing the voice, _'What do you want, Suzunagi?__'_

The woman gave a slight chuckle, _'Calm down, my dear child. Just here to make sure that all goes well. Though I tried my best to prepare them for the new battle, it does not mean they no longer have doubts. No one expected them to decide right away, this is not an easy choice to make.'_

'_You're right, and it doesn't help that this fight or whatever it is, is coming four years after the fact. How are any of you sure that the armors will still respond to them?' _The demand was one stated in both annoyance and frustration.

'_Do you doubt them?' _Suzunagi softly inquired

Elayne bristled at the comment, that one took a lot of nerve. She'd known them practically all her life, and while she might not get along with some of them most days, she still trusted them with her life.

'_Of course not! They trust each other, yet doubt themselves, can't you see that? I don't blame them, just because their ties to the elements haven't been severed doesn't mean they can still use armors which they've only willingly worn once! However, what you all are doing is wrong! After all they've done they deserve more time to decide…' _the girl paused amidst her rant, feeling the mood of the room change.

Automatically her eyes went to the Ronins of Halo and Torrent, who were on their feet trying to scan past the room they were in.

Ryo immediately understood what had set his two empathetic friends off, and he slowly stood, murmuring, "So, the battle Suzunagi warned us about is finally here."

"I just want to know;" the Ronin of Hardrock was standing as well, "What exactly we're getting ourselves into, something feels odd about all of this."

"Ya," Rowen gave a nod of agreement, "It's familiar in a sense, this energy at least."

"All those in favor of finding out?" The Warrior of Wisdom and Courtesy smirked slightly, already knowing the answer after a private communication with each Ronin.

Cye let out a chuckle in amusement, before becoming grave, "I think we all are. But, how many of us brought our armor orbs? I did, but it isn't on me right now."

The Water Ronin was welcomed by an uncharacteristically long silence, and Kento gave a sigh as he produced his, and Ryo proceeded to follow suit. Ryo always had the orb on him; it was just too hard a habit to bury.

Torrent's bearer looked to Strata and Halo who mumbled, "Its back at the hotel."

"This could be a problem," the Wildfire Ronin remarked, trying to keep the mood light as he fingered his orb gently. He wracked his brain trying to think of a possible solution for this nice little set-back.

Suzunagi laughed softly as she told the girl, _'I think this is where you come in.'_

'_Oh be quiet,' _Elayne muttered out crossly, _'I still can't see why that monk couldn't help them with this, he's supposed to be all powerful. Heck, so are you for that matter!'_

'_You were chosen because you had the strongest link to the spirit world. You did say you would help them for us,' _the spirit murmured quietly.

'_But what can I do that you all can't?' _She continued to protest, still not thrilled with the idea of being stuck in the middle…She'd do anything to help and protect her family, but this was a bit of a stretch.

Suzunagi gave an exasperated sigh after a moment's silence, _'Kaosu expresses his regret, but right now you are the only one close enough to the warriors, to be of any use to anyone. It can't be known that the elders have been interfering, and you know this. You knew it when you accepted this task.'_

Not desiring to get chewed out anymore Elayne closed her mind off, slowly standing, "Kento-kun, can I see that for a minute?" She didn't dare ask Ryo for his, knowing he'd just start badgering her with questions.

The Hardrock Ronin was puzzled but handed the orb to her regardless, "Here."

"Hmm, so they all look pretty much the same as before?" Elayne asked thoughtfully, rolling it over in her fingers a couple of times, waiting for conformation before continuing.

"Yeah, why do ya want to know?" the Ronin of Strata asked eyebrows pricked into a frown.

She closed her eyes, the crystal around her neck softly chiming in response, "I've been practicing with using the crystal to teleport inanimate objects. If you had read my _last _three letters you would know that I've actually become somewhat successful in summoning an object of up to around fifty feet away. Now since these give off their own power, it shouldn't matter how far away they are. So, the crystal should be able…"

Three faintly glowing spheres appeared, hovering in front of their respective owners pulsing with energy; the three Ronins quickly grasped the orbs, and Elayne opened her eyes.

"Oh it worked! Ha, that's it when I see Lindsay next; I'm telling her to stuff it. Here you go, Kento," she happily handed him back his armor crystal. "That was a bit easier than I thought it would be. Score one for the novice!"

"We're going to need to have a talk after this is taken care of," the Ronin of Halo told her, a mixture of concern and puzzlement on his face.

Elayne carelessly shrugged, "Whatever." She really wasn't that bothered with the prospect, Sage wasn't the yelling type plus he probably wouldn't remember to chew her out later. By then, he would undoubtedly have too many other things on his mind.

"Let's go, all we need is casualties on our end," Ryo curled his fingers around his orb, allowing the power within it to release.

The other four followed suit…The Ronin Warriors had taken up arms once more.

* * *

_A/n: Yes, as in the same Suzunagi from Message OVA. While the Ronins did put her tormented soul to rest, her spirit still has the ability to crossover into the plain of existence prior to the spirit realm and parallel to the earthly realm. I refer to this plain as 'limbo' (no not 'the Limbo' of Roman Catholic theology). Suzunagi's family was said to be descended from the remnants of the Ancient One's clan; therefore she has enough power to travel back and forth when she has to. That's my opinion on it anyway, in case you were curious._


	6. Chapter 5: A New Enemy, Or ?

**Chapter Five: **

**A New Enemy, or ??**

As always, when one least expected it, trouble would start to brew. This night was to be no exception to that rule.

Not even a half-a-mile away was evil making its presence known. Thick dark clouds had formed over head, rimmed by a dark olive green hue.

Thunder clapped in the distance, as the demons wormed their ways out of the shadows, scanning their surroundings.

Their scouts had reported that their quarry was here, and hopefully all would go according to plan.

As a minimal amount of light filtered through, one could see what these demons were. They were dark in appearance, each looking to be something slightly less than human, and all wore light body-armor that could have easily passed for being similar to samurai warriors.

These warriors had no ties to the Dynasty at all, their master far more sinister than even Talpa himself…But he was still imprisoned, and though he could not walk freely he could still communicate with his loyal servants.

The demons task was but a simple one seek out the warriors and test them to see if they were as strong as they had been. There were twenty here in Yokohama to test the Ronin, and another twenty had been dispense to once more test the Sailor Senshi.

One of the soldiers paused suddenly, sensing the approaching energies, and quickly signaled to its comrades. With in an instant they had seeped back into the shadows, deciding to wait for their prey to come to them.

* * *

The girl followed the Ronins at a safe distance, knowing exactly how pissed the guys would be once they realized she was tailing them. 

'_Honestly, why couldn't they have gotten someone else to spy for them?'_ Elayne thought in reference to the spirits that had asked her to give a little help.

Supposedly constraints in place prevented them from aiding the warriors in finding one another, so for now, the girl was stuck being the link. According to the orders she was given, she had to bring the Ronin Warriors and Sailor Scouts together, and then the spirits could take over from there.

Granted, said spirits could have chosen any seer within a fifty-mile radius to do this for them, but they had selected her, just because she knew, or had been on good terms with each warrior at a certain time.

Not really liking her current train of thought, she switched them over to what had transpired but moments before.

_Each Ronin looked at one another in surprise, true they had been in, and used, the armors before, but they had never had a chance to study the sub-armor. _

_It was mostly metallic silver, with each Ronin's respective armor symbol on the chest plate. _

_The parts that were not silver were colored according to the armor wearer; bright metallic red for Wildfire, a soft but vibrant green for Halo, burnt orange for Hardrock, sea-blue for Torrent and the darkest blue imaginable for Strata._

_Elayne let out a low whistle, noting how the sub-armor brought out each young man's features, "Remind me again, why don't you guys have steady girlfriends?"_

_"An!" Rowen hissed at her from embarrassment, turning a nice shade of crimson._

_"Come on guys," the Ronin of Wildfire merely chuckled, and stated to her, "We'll be seeing you later."_

_The girl merely scowled as the five young men darted past her. Once they were out of ear-shot, she grumbled, "If he thinks I'm staying here, he's more of an idiot than I ever would have given him credit for."_

She paused now, coming to a slight halt having sensed that the five had stopped moving.

The girl quickly undid the straps to her rollerblades, and jumped into a tree, slowly edging her way to where she was sure the five were fighting.

Elayne settled on a sturdy branch, and watched as the events unfolded before her eyes.

* * *

The Ronin of Wildfire frowned, as he slowed his pace. It seemed to him, as though the negative energy had stopped advancing towards them.

Rowen was the first to slacken his pace after Ryo had done so; Kento and Cye narrowly avoided running into the archer for such an abrupt drop for both had been to busy scanning the surrounding area for movement to notice.

Though the developed sense Sage had acquired through strict training and teaching was boosted by the newer armor, he was still having a hard time pin-pointing the dark presences.

All of a sudden he felt the air about him become heavier, and the negative energy sharply rose causing a scowl to form on his face.

With some reluctance the swordsman stated the painfully obvious, as he came to a halt, "We've been surrounded."

The Ronin of Hardrock was now carefully eyeing the tree-line, still trying to see anything out of the ordinary, "I sense them, but I don't see them."

A low eerie cackling caught each Ronins attention, as its owner then hissed out, "We're right in front of you, Ronin."

The shadows slowly fell away from the trees, and then solidified into the demon soldiers.

"Well," Torrent's bearer narrowed his eyes in frustration, "They aren't Dynasty soldiers."

"One of _those_ weaklings?" The soldier scoffed sounding seriously offended, "You must be joking. Let us show these fools, what we can do."

"Scatter!" The Ronin of Wildfire cried, leaping up over the soldier in front of him.

* * *

The girl's eyes were wide in panic, as pure shock and fear went through every muscle in her body. She muttered out in astonishment, "Ra…Raikken? But it can't be!"

Elayne sunk closer against the tree, as she focused intently on the fighting below her. Oh, she had seen the Ronins fight, but nothing like this.

She may be able to learn a thing or two, if she paid enough attention to them now.

Out of all the Ronins, Kento seemed to be having the least trouble in landing a hit.

The only problem was, each time he landed a punch or kick, the demon bounced back up as though nothing had happened.

From his current vantage point, the Ronin of Halo was fairing little better and all he could was scowl in irritation.

According to his sense's these demon soldiers weren't that strong, but then why were the five of them having such a hard time? It just didn't add up.

"Any ideas?" Cye inquired of the Strata Ronin.

A shake of blue hair came as a response, as Rowen muttered, "Working on it."

'_Better work faster Ro,' _Ryo thought to himself, this fight, in his opinion, was only getting worse.

Halo's bearer dodged a spear, and then tried to slip past his opponent's defense, only to have the attempt filter out to nothing.

'_These things have to have a weakness!' _He just couldn't think of any.

"Sage, watch out!" The Ronin of Strata hollered, an arrow having flashed past him, heading straight for the Warrior of Wisdom.

If it hadn't been for the timely warning, Sage would've had an arrow embedded into his sub-armor, "Thanks, Ro."

"Am I the only one having trouble here?" The Water Ronin lightly commented, having kicked his opponent in its midriff; only to have the monster get back up.

"No," Came a response from the Ronin leader, who barely evaded decapitation, "It's apparent that we're all having a hard time."

The Warrior of Strength gave a slight inclination of his head, "Yeah. This is like trying to fight a forest fire with a squirt gun."

"That's some metaphor, Kento," Rowen commented with a light chuckle.

"I'm here till I get knocked unconscious," The Hardrock Ronin shot back with a smirk.

It soon faded when he realized what the enemy was doing, "Um, they're forming ranks."

"Perfect," The Ronin of Torrent muttered, gritting his teeth together.

Ryo's voice took that of a calm and even tone, "Well then, let's regroup."

* * *

Elayne blinked a few times, now being able to count how many demon soldiers there were, "Five against twenty, that doesn't seem fair. It'd be even more unfair if the guys were actually winning, I just don't get why they're having a hard time."

The girl frowned, trying to recall what she had read in one of the files she had found about these demons.

'_Disunion allows these beings to thrive, becoming almost invincible. As long as a group works together, or a person is in complete harmony with himself and his surroundings, the Raikken stand little chance of surviving.'_

"Oh boy," She murmured eyes widening in realization now, "This is _very_ bad."

"Any ideas now?" Cye asked hopefully.

To everyone's relief, the archer nodded in response.

'_I've been studying these things closely, and all we have to do,' _Rowen calmly brought over the mind-link, _'Is fight the way we used to.'_

'_It makes perfect sense; they're feeding off our lack of organization and unity,' _the Halo Ronin commented.

Ryo set his jaw, locking his eyes onto the demon soldier directly in front of him, _'Alright, let's do this guys.' _

The change was almost immediate; as the air about each Ronin glimmered slightly, they launched themselves into an all-out assault on their foe.

In mere minutes only nine of the original twenty remained, and all looked visibly worried.

As its comrades were being taken care of, an archer diverted its attention elsewhere.

He drew an arrow, eyes focusing on movement he had caught in a tree, and released it.

* * *

"Uh-oh, time to go," the girl hauled herself a branch higher, mere seconds before the arrow made impact in the tree.

She winced, having barely avoided it, "_That_ would have left a mark."

* * *

Sage cast a side-ways glance at where the soldier had aimed his arrow. He now only detected the presence of another being, and he immediately snapped over the link, without meaning for the others to hear him, _'ELAYNE!'_

The girl winced again, it sounded like the Ronin of Halo was definitely going to kill her.

'_Well, since he made the attention shift over to me,' _the smallest of smiles played across her lips, as she vaulted off the branch.

Surprised at seeing a person free falling to the ground, the soldiers paused permitting the Ronins to annihilate another three.

True to what she had learned in gymnastics' class, her hands shot out at the last minute and she performed a small flip to land upright.

Elayne then dropped down to the ground, knocking the demon archer off balance with her right leg.

As it tried to correct itself, she gave a sharp punch to the middle of it's chest, and it fell backwards landing on a rock.

Like the demons before it, this soldier exploded into black ash upon impact.

The girl carelessly dusted off her clothes, trying to evade looking at the Ronins, as she could tell they were a little bit annoyed…More along the line of wanting to knock some sense into her head, probably.

Finally her temper got the better of her, as she whirled around demanding, "What are _you_ five staring at?"

"Exactly where'd you learn that?" Rowen abruptly demanded; he wasn't as annoyed about her being here, as he was about her stroke of luck.

Oh sure, he had taught her a few techniques, but what she had pulled off showed she had more knowledge and practice then what he'd given her.

Elayne merely smirked at him, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"As a matter of fact," The Warrior of Wisdom had his arms crossed in front of his chest, "We would."

She could easily tell that Sage was beyond angry that she had followed, so she did her best to diffuse him.

"Well," Elayne winked, deciding to stand a bit straighter, "Look around, and you'll see my teachers."

Ryo gaped at her, unbelieving, "You're kidding!"

"Actually," Kento sheepishly admitted, "Mama said it was okay for her to learn kunfu. And I helped her practice."

The girl shot him a grin, and then leaned against the Halo Ronin serving to annoy Sage further, "And it's your entire fault for my knowing anything about kendo. Right, Oniichan?"

He smirked, and pushed her aside, "Go irritate Cye, you."

Elayne merely stuck her tongue out at him, and further expounded upon Ryo's inquiry, "I also know basic martial arts. Is it _that_ hard to figure out who I learned from? Or, do I need to spell your name out for you?"

The Wildfire Ronin bristled at her comment, fully prepared to make a snide retort, only to have Strata beat him to the punch.

"Don't get smart."

The girl gave a pout, "I already am smart; you said it yourself. After all, who beat you at five games of Go in a row?"

"That was different," The archer returned.

"Oh because I have more common sense then you?" She chided him.

"Girls," He muttered in annoyance.

Elayne's grin widened, enjoying the chance to antagonize the Ronin, "Are you _finally_ admitting that women are intellectually superior to men?"

"Yes, I mean, no!" Rowen was now seething, as he barked out, "Sage!"

The girl giggled, whenever the three were together, the Ronin of Halo normally covered stepping-in to settle the quarrels, "I'm not ten-years-old anymore, Ro-chan. I don't _have_ to listen to you guys. So ha! Besides, it's your fault I'm intelligent, you did encourage my studying of more 'in-depth' subjects."

The Wildfire Ronin gave a slight chuckle, but before he could make comment on the matter…

"Shut-up Ryo," Rowen and Elayne both warned, shooting dark looks his way.

Kento couldn't help himself, he laughed, "What? Are you two blood related?"

"Nah," the Strata Ronin grinned, trying to ruffle the girl's hair, "We just think we are."

She shied away from his hand, shooting him an ugly look, and then stated, "That's what happens when you know people for more than half your life. You can finish one another's thoughts, and speak at the same time. Don't you and I do that enough, Hardhead?"

* * *

Brown-eyes regarded the scene carefully, as he crept along keeping as quiet as he could.

He didn't want his prey to know he was on the move.

But, his target suddenly whirled around, and he took the opportunity to strike.

His movements were lightning quick, as though he were acting on natural instinct, and the fact of the matter is he was.

In the span of a few short seconds Elayne had been pinned to the ground by an enormous ball of black and white fur.

She threw her arms around him, as best she could, emitting a shriek of joy, "White Blaze!"

The tiger merely purred in response, and began the tedious task of washing her face.

She giggled, and tried to get him off of her, but the cat refused to budge so much as an inch.

"Blaze, off," the girl commanded sternly, figuring that trying to push him away wasn't going to work.

He paused for only a moment, as if thinking the proposition over, and then resumed cleaning her.

"Ugh, you still know how to listen well. _RYO_, get him off of me!" Elayne yelled at the young man.

The Ronin of Wildfire smirked, "Figure it out for yourself."

The other four looked to their leader as though he had gone mad, didn't he know better than to try and push that girl's buttons?

Her eyes narrowed in contempt, "Either you get him off of me, or I'll skin _you_ alive!"

The young man winced at her sharp tone, and walked over to his tiger, "Come on boy, let her up."

White Blaze gave Ryo a look that conveyed the fact that he thought his master was joking; as the Ronin leader advanced another step the tiger let out a growl.

"Blaze!" Elayne snapped, giving him a forceful shove, "Behave, you. Or I'll leave."

The tiger's ears twitched back and forth, and he permitted the girl up, sitting down with a thud, at her feet.

He placed himself in-between the two people, as if silently daring Ryo to take another step forward.

"_HEY_, I said to cut it out," the girl scowled, the jewel enabling her the ability to sense the tiger's attitude.

The majestic cat merely gave a yawn, and rubbed into her leg with a soft rumble, causing her to cave in and stroke him.

The Halo and Strata Ronin exchanged bewildered looks, not quite sure of what had just transpired.

Kento was also too stunned to speak.

The Water Ronin, however, had no problem with breaking the silence, "What's his problem?"

She shrugged, and rolled her eyes, "He's always been like that, he's just protective of me. A little too protective, eh Blaze?"

'_Actually,'_ she dryly thought to herself, 'H_e's just possessive, typical cat.'_

In response to this inquiry, White Blaze squeezed his eyes, and emitted another large purr.

"Layne, he never growls at Ryo!" Rowen exclaimed, his speech having suddenly returned.

"What can I say? He's jealous," Elayne now spoke to the tiger directly, as she sunk to his level and threw her arms around him, "You shouldn't be you know, you'll always be my favorite."

White Blaze let out a contented rumble, _'I better be.' _

"Ya, after everything we've been through right?" She grinned, and scratched him behind his ears.

The tiger nodded, he seemed to be smiling, _'Exactly.'_

"Elayne do you have to do that? It really freaks me out," The Hardrock Ronin was referring to the fact that she was, more or less, conversing with the tiger.

'_He's the biggest wimp,'_ White Blaze gave a roll of his eyes.

She laughed a little, "Blaze, that was mean. He is not."

'_Whatever you say, it was merely an observation,' _He calmly responded.

The girl gave a shake of her head, the tiger was hopeless.

* * *

_1 Go: A very popular Japanese board game that most likely came from China. The object of the game is to completely encircle your opponents piece, a.k.a. form an "eye"_

_2 Big cats, like tigers, can only purr when breathing out (unlike domestic cats who can purr when breathing in and out) and instead of being called purring the action (of blowing air through their nostrils) is known as "chuffing." Most times I will use 'purring' to describe said action._

_A/N: I apologize for not updating, but real life kinda took the front seat there for a while; I will try to avoid disappearing like that again. Thanks for those that reviewed last chapter, and I hope that I still have some readers for this :) _


	7. Chapter 6: Campout Anyone?

**Chapter Six: **

**Rewritten 8/1/05 **

"**Camp-out Anyone?"**

"So," Cye calmly ventured an attempt to get back to their previous problem, "Anyone, want to take a guess as to what those things were?"

Rowen responded to this by voicing his current thoughts aloud, "They seemed extremely offended that we thought they were Dynasty soldiers. They were much stronger, and they fed off of negative energy more than the Dynasty soldiers could."

"They weren't after our armors, they would've fought harder," a scowl darkened the Halo Ronin's face, as he continued; "I think they were here to test us. But for what?"

"To see what we were capable of, kinda like Elayne was doing until the soldier spotted her," Ryo had been glaring at the girl the whole time, fully aware she had been watching everything.

The girl hated that, out of everyone she knew Ryo always managed to figure out the truth behind her actions.

One day, his curiosity would get him into a trouble that he couldn't get himself out of, oh she was sure of that. All eyes now rested on the teenage girl; there was no anger, no apprehension, just curiosity as to what she might be hiding.

She very easily brushed him off, "I just wanted to see how you all really fought. In sparring, you guys always managed to hold back. I mean, I was a kid and all."

The excuse was a viable one, for it was a part truth, but not the whole. She was really only watching so closely for the spirits sake; most times they could see what she did. The spirits, in question, needed to know exactly at what level the Ronins were.

* * *

"I think we have a bigger problem…" Sage calmly broke the sudden silence that had followed, "This isn't the center of the negative energy." 

"Are you sure?" The Ronin leader inquired, features forming into a worried frown.

The swordsman gave the slightest of nods in acknowledgement, "It's to the east of us."

Elayne felt her heart skip a beat, and nearly let out a gasp of surprise, _'Oh no the Scouts! This is great; Serenity never said anything about them getting attacked, again.'_

"I have a feeling we need to head to Tokyo. At our current position, it is to the east of us," The Strata Ronin muttered, scanning the starlit sky for any traces of the clouds that had been present before.

"It's almost midnight, there's no point in trying to head back to the hotel. Those of us that have rooms there that is," Cye looked up from his watch, and at the others.

"Camp out! It'll be like old times! Come on, we are pretty deep in this forest after all," Kento looked at them all hopefully; any excuse not to go back to his place was a good one. He had a nagging suspicion something had happened to it, though he had no clue why.

The girl couldn't help but smile at Kento's willingness to have things back to the way they had been when the Ronins had been fighting with Talpa.

She remembered all too clear the stories he had told her about his 'friends' and what they had managed to accomplish.

Elayne sat down, her eyes closed deep in thought. Her knowing each Ronin for what they were, would've never had happened, if she hadn't managed to come across the armor orbs.

For the oddest of reasons it seemed as though the spheres would purposely roll off into the middle of the floor, just for her to find them and inquire what they were.

Cye and Ryo couldn't tell outright lies to save their souls, and Sage avidly despised having to lie. Rowen was a natural at making up stories, but the small trinket that she wore gave her a certain sense to know when he was fibbing.

And Kento? Well, the Hardrock Ronin trusted her completely, and was undoubtedly the first one to do so. It had taken him only two weeks to completely 'adopt' her as apart of his family.It had taken the others some odd months, and in the Strata Ronin's case, a year to trust her that well.

The girl came out of her reverie just in time to catch the next snippet or so of conversation.

"Yeah, it's been a while. Who's going to get the wood?" Rowen was now sprawled out on the ground, staring at the sky.

"Me!" Kento announced, "I am the muscle around here, after all."

Elayne snorted at that, "You are full of yourself Kento."

The Chinese man had stood, and now gave a bow, "Why thank you, it's about time someone noticed."

The Ronin of Halo let a smile play his lips, "You do realize that a tree could have grown to full size about now?"

The Torrent bearer hit the blonde in the arm, "Save it. The last time you went for wood, by the time you came back, most of us had retired."

"Haha, Cye." Sage growled, half-way tempted to tackle the auburn haired man sitting next to him.

Ryo was in his own thoughts for the time being, Elayne knew it was pointless to try and talk with him. She bit back the urge to let out a frustrated sigh, dwelling on what had happened to cause Ryo to cease communicating with her.

The girl might have been content to stay withdrawn for the rest of the night…Though she raised an eyebrow when the five young men went back to wearing their subarmor. Funny…She didn't sense anything.

"We're not sleeping in fancy suites," Rowen said with a chuckle to her look, thinking to add, "Or in the nude."

Elayne rolled her eyes skyward, saying, "I'm not even going to touch _that_ comment."

* * *

Kento dropped the firewood he had gathered, causing everyone to come back to reality fairly fast. 

"What are you trying to do give us heart attacks?" Cye yelped in surprise.

The purple-ash haired man grinned smugly, "It got your attention didn't it?"

"Boys…" the girl warned from her corner, subsequently reminding them of her presence once more, "Don't make me get up."

"Yes, ma'am." The two cheerfully responded with smirks her way.

The girl arched her eyebrows; they were so going to pay for that one.

"Ryo, you're Wildfire, you try and start this stupid thing!" Kento was near to uttering several swear words at this point.

Cye had tried to light the fire first, and nothing had happened, then Sage, followed by Rowen, nothing not even a spark.

They had switched-out twigs, and still the result was nothing. Elayne had bored of sitting on the ground some minutes before, and leapt into a tree to watch their futile attempts.

Ryo took over, trying hard not to roll his eyes, "Well they aren't damp…this is weird."

He stroked them together for several minutes, but he got about as far as the others. He tried for ten minutes more, and then started to get frustrated.

Just when he was ready to throw them aside in anger, the fire sparked to life.

It happened so sudden, and the flames were so vast, they all jumped back in surprise; except for Elayne who burst into laughter.

"What's wrong guys? Getting a little too hot for you?" She couldn't hide her guilt.

"I hope you fall out of that tree," Ryo growled, causing the others to snicker.

"Sorry, not going to happen."

"You taught yourself how to use the jewel to the point you can tamper with fire?" Rowen asked incredulously.

"Mhm, comes in extremely handy too," the girl said, "Oh don't act so surprised we all figured this heirloom was capable of doing such things.

"You know ordinarily I would be annoyed, but I have to admit that was funny."

"Why thank you, Cye." She grinned, and jumped down from the tree to sit by them.

* * *

The five Ronins talked amongst themselves for a while, but Elayne said nothing, she only gazed intently at the fire in front of her. 

She was lost in-between meditation and deep thought, and that image came and replayed itself again. The one thing, that no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't burry it.

Ryo had been watching her out of the corner of his eye for sometime, "Layne?"

Her eyes snapped open suddenly, she shook her head to rid herself of the effects of the trance, "What? Don't tell me I was on one of your zoning trips."

He gritted his teeth together, but chose to ignore the comment, "Something wrong?"

"No," The girl moodily mumbled, "Unless you count the fact, that you guys were fighting Raikken."

"Rai-what?" The Strata Ronin asked in confusion, suddenly sitting up.

"Ray-ache-en," She slowly pronounced the word, and then spelled it, "R-a-i-k-k-e-n."

"You know what they are?" The Ronin of Trust asked in mild surprise.

The girl nodded, "I know it sounds strange, but what Mia does for a living is my hobby, instead. Plus, at a certain legal guardian's pressing I took several language courses, so I qualified for a degree…"

Ryo looked at her in shock, "You're a linguist?"

"Sort of," Elayne whimsically said, "The fact is, Mia and I have been going through her Grandfather's ancient texts for the past couple of years. Gathering data here and there, taking down notes from old family stories."

"Go on," Kento urged, he was intrigued by this.

She let out a sigh, "I've managed to piece together three-years worth of work, and hopefully what I've got will fit in with Doctor Koji gathered. It seems he was working on the 'myth of the legendary warriors,' or something like that."

The Ronin of Strata stroked his chin in thought, "It may tie in with these demons that we faced tonight, then?"

"It has to," Elayne stated, "After all, good guys aren't worth much without the bad guys to defeat."

Cye gave a nod, "Good point. Would you mind if we tailed you to Mia's?"

"Of course not, I was going to suggest that you come with me anyway," She gave a wink; "I don't get to see you guys that often. Every minute counts."

The Ronin of Halo chuckled, "We'll keep that in mind."

Ryo gave a sigh, "Come on, it's been a long night, and we're all exhausted. We can talk more tomorrow."

Elayne blinked a couple of times, shaking her head slightly, "Did you actually say something of intelligence, or am I imagining things?"

"Ouch Layne! You sure are rough," Rowen winced, starting to feel somewhat sorry for his leader. All the girl had done was hassle him in her entire time of being around him.

Wildfire's bearer glared at her, "I've changed. Got a problem with that?"

"Whose fault is it that I wasn't allowed the decency to be around?" The girl shot to him, her voice thick with a suppressed rage.

He balked at her statement; lowering his eyes to the ground, he whispered, "Mine."

"Mhm, 'bout time you figured that one out." She was on her feet instantly, "I already told you, we'd settle our problem later. I won't discuss this in front of your friends; what you tell them is up to you."

The other four were silent, stunned beyond words; each was curious as to what had transpired between the two, but they couldn't bring themselves to speak up right at that point. They already knew Ryo had a volatile temper; they didn't want to find out if Elayne had one too.

Ryo gave a nervous sigh, "Why me?"

"I may have more seniority than you, but you have more brownie points than me," Elayne answered simply, leaping back into the tree.

Several minutes passed, and not a word was spoken, Elayne rolled over onto her side to survey the five young men.

She giggled_, 'They must've been a lot more tired than they thought, not even five minutes after that tiff and they are all sound asleep. Guess I get guard duty, not like anything will happen, but there's no way I'm getting any sleep tonight.' _

* * *

The morning sun slowly broke over the trees, and the five Ronin Warriors started to stir. 

Cye rubbed the sleep from his eyes with a yawn, and the first thing he noticed was that Elayne and White Blaze were up, and seemed engaged in a deep conversation.

"No, you're right…I don't like it either. This seems too well planned out, they can't be working with the Dynasty and I doubt they're with the Negaverse. Those creeps got taken care of, for good this time," Elayne muttered to the tiger.

"Nega-who?" Kento asked, having awoken not much after the Water Ronin.

The girl paused a moment, she hadn't sensed that they were awake; "Ah it's nothing, Ken-kun. Blaze and I are just going over a few theories he had. Might explain it to you later."

"Explain what to whom?" Sage was wide awake now, having caught fragments of the conversation currently taking place.

Rowen groaned, catching everyone's attention.

The blue-haired young man straightened up, muttering sleepily, "What time is it?"

"Woah, write this down, Rowen Hashiba is up before eleven!" The Hardrock Ronin cried in pure astonishment.

"Why you!" The Ronin of Strata spat, eyes narrowing into a hateful stare.

Elayne bit back the urge to laugh; it seemed Rowen still was not a morning person even after all these years.

"Would you believe for two days in a row?" The Water Ronin smugly grinned.

"That's it, you're both dead!" Rowen declared, a wide smile on his face, as he dove for the two of them.

Having already seen what was coming, the Halo Ronin wisely yanked a half-asleep Ryo out of the way.

"I'd wake up Ryo, or you'll get flattened," came the warning from the blonde swordsman.

Ryo let out a low moan, "It's seven in the morning, and they are already at it?"

Sage merely nodded, letting a chuckle escape him, "Just like old times, eh?"

"Too much like old times," the Ronin leader grumbled in annoyance.

* * *

"Adults and you still act as though you are seventeen," Elayne was amused, as she separated the three of them. 

She merely had to tug on Rowen's ear, and twist Cye's arm to get them to quit, and by the time she was prepared to deal with Kento, he had already gotten the message. And he was more than content to smirk at his two comrades.

"Not bad," The Warrior of Halo commented with a grin.

"Thanks," She beamed, "I have a few small errands to run, think we can meet at that place in town?"

"Sure," The Hardrock Ronin said with a slight yawn, switching his gaze off the still seething Strata and Torrent Ronins; he had the oddest of feelings they were going to get him back, eventually.

"Great! First stop Mia's and then onto Tokyo," the girl cheerfully declared.

"Who invited you?" Ryo asked, sharply; he was obviously ignorant of their squabble last night.

"No one, but I kinda have to go that way, seeing as how I live there," Elayne returned flatly; her hazel-violet eyes narrowed alerting Ryo that he was on very thin ice.

"You guys are more than welcome to stay at the Estate during your 'investigation.' No one asks questions there, unless you're willing to give up the information. Plus, Blaze will be hard to spot on all the acreage. Were you planning to live on the streets, Ryo?"

Cye stepped in as peacekeeper; easily sensing how bad this conversation could go from the emotions he had felt yesterday, he placed himself in between the two, "She's got a point. I'm basically the only one with an apartment in the area. We could use someplace else to stay though; if you think about it."

"Stay out of it," the Wildfire Ronin snapped, eyes lit with flame as he continued to stare the girl down.

"Let little sister, handle this," Elayne murmured giving Cye a gentle squeeze on the shoulder.

She walked out from behind him, and without so much as blinking slapped Ryo in the face.

"_THAT_," The girl hissed out angrily, "Was for leaving without saying so much as a 'goodbye' you coward. You're problem is with me Ryo; don't you dare take it out on Cye, unless you really want me to put you through a wall."

The Wildfire Ronin held were she had slapped him startled, his mind not quite registering the actions she had taken.

Sage, Rowen, and Kento could do nothing but gape at the pair; Cye had let out a small gasp, not thinking her capable of actually slapping someone, or being that angry for that matter.

"We'll settle this later," she icily stated, before storming off; silently thanking her lucky stars that Ryo was too stunned and too much of a gentlemen to actually hit her back. Otherwise she would have been in an awful lot of trouble.

* * *

_A/N: Ya you get two chapters today, to make up for the lack of them. _

_Show of hands of those who think Elayne has anger-issues raises hand But I can't blame her, especially seeing who she had to grow-up around. At any rate, I didn't feel it would be very original to have someone be all fuzzy and hugs upon seeing an old friend they thought they'd never see again; that, and I like conflicts between characters. lol._


	8. Chapter 7: Few Answers, More Questions

**Chapter Seven: **

**Few Answers; More Questions**

An hour had passed since the earlier…Rowen frowned, what could you call it? Blow-up, confrontation, argument?

As far as he was concerned, there were no words to adequately describe what had happened. Elayne had never once been like that around him or Sage as far as he knew. The girl was quiet and respectful…Though they used to argue a lot, it was never anything like that.

He had started to think she could never lose her temper, but her display before certainly proved she did in fact have quite a temper. Then again, there was no telling how long she'd been holding it all in…Rowen gave an aggravated sigh, there were just too many variables and too many possibilities.

The five young men had split up briefly, in order to change and freshen up after last nights escapades. Cye had gone with Kento; while he had come over to Yokohama on the train yesterday he hadn't brought a change of clothes with him but there was spare clothing left behind from his last visit to Hardrock's abode. The other three had gone back to the hotel; Ryo hadn't spoken a word.

Not paying too much attention to the Wildfire Ronin's contemplative state, Rowen and Sage had spent their time exchanging ideas as to what to do after they got to Tokyo. They didn't have to notify their families since they hadn't planned on returning to their normal places of residence for another three days. Throwing Kento's surprise birthday party had only been the prelude, after that the four men had figured on spending the next few days together.

It was just something they did, a routine they had established not long after dealing with Suzunagi…They had come so close to drifting apart permanently, that they weren't going to permit it from happening again. So the 'reunions' had come about, and in a way it was probably the best thing for them.

Having been through so much together, they tended to miss one another's company and while phone calls and letters were nice…That couldn't take the place of seeing and talking with someone in person.

The two young men had decided that probably the best thing to do after getting settled in was to take a quick look around Tokyo. If it turned out that this problem was going to be long term, then other steps would follow. As far as, deciding whether or not to stay in Tokyo on a more permanent basis or not, was something each young man would have to decide for himself.

Kento and Cye had met them just outside of the hotel; the Hardrock Ronin was steaming having found his apartment in complete disarray. Cye on the other hand, had no problem relaying in perfect detail what exactly had been done to the apartment. The Warrior of Strength muttered about how he was going to kill Yulie, knowing full well the teenager had done it.

This had only severed as further amusement to Cye; Rowen hadn't missed a beat saying the only reason Yulie was so mischievous was because Kento had influenced him so much.

The Hardrock Ronin's retort was that if Rowen and Sage had spent half as much time with the boy as he had, their personalities would've counterbalanced that of his own, and Yulie would've been fine. Just to make sure Strata got what he was hinting at; Kento came right out and stated that it was their fault.

This line of argument continued until the five of them entered the small restaurant, Elayne had referred to. They had quieted down, until getting into a booth then discussions of what to do after getting to Tokyo sprang up. Throughout all of this, the Ronin of Wildfire remained silent so much so that it was starting to concern the others.

They couldn't help but wonder what had occurred between the two, because even with the four of them tossing out ideas, there just wasn't a plausible one.

The four Ronins knew Ryo inside and out; he was kind and laid-back as well as fiercely loyal and protective. You couldn't ask for a better friend, and even with his temper (which typically only came out when someone he cared about was in danger) he'd never harm a sole. It just wasn't in him to be that way.

However, they also knew Elayne really well. The girl was similar to Ryo in the fact that she was easy-going. She wasn't the type to over-react, and it took a lot to get her upset. So for her to have done what she did, well it clearly stated that something had happened to get under her skin.

The only one, who could tell them what had occurred though, was currently staring at the tabletop as if trying to ignore the fact the four of them were there.

* * *

Sage sighed through his nose; this was really getting them nowhere…Ryo was brooding over whatever had happened, or was still in shock. To see his friend this silent, was really starting to worry and bother him. Seeing as how the others were waiting for someone else to make a move, he decided to break this unofficial vow of silence.

"Ryo?"

"Hm?" the response was so soft that Sage had to strain to hear it.

"Want to tell us what's nagging you?" Cye asked, hoping that the Wildfire Ronin would actually talk.

A frown formed on Ryo's face, as he responded with nothing more than another 'hmm.' He had remained so quiet, merely to think over what he could possibly tell his friends so that they would understand, as well as trying to come up with a way to get back on Elayne's good side.

Kento rolled his eyes long past being annoyed, "You haven't spoken a word since Elayne stormed off! You're freaking us out man. Speak already!"

Rowen sadly shook his head being able to sympathize with Ryo on this. While Strata's bearer hadn't set the girl off quite as badly as his leader just had, the fact was he had done it before.

Seeing as how Kento was prepared to rant and rave some more, he broke in with, "Easy there Kento, buddy. If Ryo doesn't want to talk…"

"He'll continue to go on sulking, until Elayne shows up," a smirk alighted Sage's features, hoping that by poking fun at the matter, Ryo would relax a little.

"When she'll promptly knock his lights out, since she didn't do so this morning," the Water Ronin casually added, exchanging a knowing grin with Sage.

"You guys! That's not what I was trying to say!" Rowen growled very irritated that they would treat this subject like a joke.

"We know," they coolly responded not at all ashamed with their behavior.

Ryo chuckled lightly shaking his head as he did so; leave it to the 'mothers' of the group. While they always had teased Cye about being the mother hen, Sage could be just as bad as Torrent. The fact was, the swordsman just wasn't obvious in his 'mothering' methods like Cye, so no one could accuse him.

The Hardrock Ronin smirked having figured out what the two were trying to do, "He can actually say more than 'hm!'"

Laughter immediately rang out from their booth, and the five garnered a few stares and curious glances from the other patrons in the small café-like restaurant.

With the tension in the booth now gone, Ryo decided to come out with whatever he was holding back.

He held his hands up in defeat saying with a grin, "Okay, stop with the looks…" which varied from worry to annoyance, "I'll talk."

"'Bout bloody time," Cye grumbled under his breath, though glad Sage's impromptu plan worked.

The swordsman sharply nudged him in the stomach with his elbow, having caught the remark; he arched his golden-eyebrows as if to state, _'you should've said something before I did, you've no room to complain.' _

Cye was half-way tempted to shove Sage off the booth and into the aisle way…Though, that would be too humiliating a thing to pull, especially on Sage. It was amusing to the Torrent Ronin as to how he and the swordsman now got along.

They had never spoken much or goofed off together, those types of things just hadn't been important in their friendship. Each man had a mutual understanding for the other, coming from similar backgrounds and lifestyles, as well as having similar abilities…. But now?

The Ronins of Torrent and Halo got along far too-well for the others liking, meaning the other three figured it was only a matter of time before the two started plotting ways to keep them in-line. If they only knew that Sage and Cye had been doing that from the beginning; the two oldest Ronins had taken it upon themselves to keep the younger ones on track from the start.

* * *

Ryo let out a prolonged sigh, "The year after my mother died, my father received a phone call. I was only able to catch small pieces of the conversation; I was supposed to be asleep, I figured someone had called requesting my father to come and take pictures. Oddly enough, that's not what it was, an old friend of his called him up asking for a favor. All I caught was my father saying yes to whatever the favor was, and I went back to bed."

"Around lunch the next day, Dad sat me down to have a talk. He explained to me that friends of our family had died leaving his friend, Nakahara Daiki, the legal guardian of two children. He said he could take care of the older girl without an issue, but was concerned about the younger. He gave my Dad a number of excuses as to why, and my father knew full-well the man was lying through his teeth. But he decided to take her in anyway, figuring it'd be good for me to have someone close to my age around. Bet you guys can imagine how thrilled I was; if not, boy I wasn't happy."

The Warrior of Strength nodded sympathetically, "Who would be? An 'adopted' younger sibling, and to top it off a sister?"

"Exactly," Wildfire's bearer played with the straw to his drink, "Even though I was only five, I still figured I was getting stuck with someone to look after. So when my father brought her home with him two days later? She was not what I was expecting at all, she wasn't clingy or whiny…She did not act like a three-year-old, maybe it was the family heirloom, who knows?"

Sage thought it over for a brief moment it was quite possible; there was no telling where the crystal had come from and how many souls had left their imprints on it. Sage had extensive knowledge of supernatural things and the like; it wasn't so much because of his abnormal abilities, as it was due to his study of the subject. He just wouldn't admit that aloud to his friends, but in any case he was aware that sometimes people left behind imprints on treasured objects, and jewelry was a perfect conductor.

Ryo chuckled a little, "The first two months were a total and complete nightmare, and we couldn't get along for anything. Our personalities just completely clashed…One day though we decided to call a truce, and that was the end of the arguments. After that point we became really close, and when my father was away we looked after each other."

"When my Dad would practice and train with me, she'd follow through the routines as well. He was always impressed by how quick she caught on to something new. Any arguments she and I had after our starting over point, never lasted long. She either won the arguments, or would get me to the point where I just couldn't be mad at her anymore," Ryo grinned as certain memories came to his mind.

"It's hard to stay mad at her, in general," Rowen murmured in annoyance, knowing exactly what his leader was talking about.

"Yeah. It's that whole bigger sibling picking on the younger sibling guilt, and she knows how to play the cards so you feel twice as guilty."

"Kento, you sound quite knowledgeable about that trick," the Halo Ronin chided, not like he hadn't been there before himself.

"Well gee, I only have four younger siblings, and they used it all the time."

"You're just a softy, Kento, that's all," Cye chuckled at his friend in amusement.

"Come on Ryo, finish. You weren't plannin' to leave us in suspense were you?" Rowen smoothly brought the others' attention back to what they had been discussing, sensing they were going to get way off topic if things continued.

"Sorry, I was grateful for the breather," the Ronin leader then continued on in a low murmur, "It wasn't that long before the war, I'd been having nightmares about my father getting attacked by lions. He went on a photography trip to Africa, and the nightmares increased. Elayne knew something was wrong with me, and she just kept bugging me till I told her."

The other four remained silent digesting this information as it came to them, still unsure as to where this was going. They had met the Ronin leader's father on several occasions, having had to save him one of those times.

Ryo let out a slow breath, "I tried to put it out of my mind, I was worried about Elayne…I knew the battle was coming, the Ancient had told me as much, and I couldn't bare the thought of her getting caught up in all of that. I tried talking to her about it; she was upset guess she figured I thought she was a nuisance, all I wanted was her to be safe. She said she understood though, and then…"

His eyes were on the ceiling for a moment, and he let out a breath he'd been holding in, "I got a phone call, from a hospital out in Africa someplace. They told me that the group my father was with had been attacked, and that he was dead."

The four young men went dead silent as they exchanged looks with one another, but if Ryo's father was dead, then who was the man they'd come to know?

"I left after that, I didn't really tell her goodbye, but I didn't know what to say at that point," the Wildfire Ronin let out a sigh, and rested his head on his arms.

Cye gave his leader a small smile in sympathy, "I think we all understand about the battle aspect. None of us wanted her to get in the middle either."

"It was only a stroke of luck that her legal guardian sent her over to the States," the Halo Ronin commented.

"Hold on," Kento protested, knowing the two were avoiding the question at hand, "If you're father died…"

Ryo ran a hand through his thick raven locks, and sat back up, "He wasn't dead; I found that out about a month after our first fight with Talpa, when he called. Apparently, the hospital mixed up his identification with that of another photographer. They just never called me to rectify the mistake."

The four Ronins looked amongst themselves, and then back at Wildfire's bearer; to them this new information explained a lot as to why his attitude had been what it had during those times. However, they would have never guessed that at one point, Ryo had been told the only parent he had was gone.

* * *

Sensing that Ryo was slipping back into brooding, Rowen offered a small grin, "Hey, ask Elayne how dumb I acted after my parent's got divorced, sometime. She can tell ya plenty of stories, I'm sure." 

"You didn't do anything to make her want to kill you though," the Ronin leader grumbled out.

"Umm…well…" the Ronin of Strata hesitantly began.

"He came pretty close on more than one occasion, but I let him off easy," Elayne cheerfully stated from behind, "Ryo, I don't want to kill you because of what happened. I just want to, to prove that I can."

"Ah, don't do that!" Kento exclaimed having nearly jumped out of his seat.

"Shesh Elayne!" Rowen muttered trying to calm his beating heart.

She merely smirked at them, "Wimps."

Sage and Cye had watched Elayne slide into the booth behind their three friends, it had been hard not to give her away.

"How long have you been there?" the Wildfire Ronin ordered.

"My aren't we demanding?" This earned chuckles from the other four, "Long enough to hear you gab on."

She slid out of the booth, and then stood next to him, proudly beaming at Cye and Sage…It almost felt as though they had been betting as to whether or not she could scare Strata and Hardrock.

"You going to forgive me?" Ryo asked, trying to read her face for any sign of emotion.

"Nah, I already did forgive you, you just never realized it," was her chipper reply.

"Could you put that into plain Japanese, or maybe English?"

"What was that? You want me to hit you how hard?" She sweetly inquired; readying a fist fully prepared to whap Ryo in the head.

Sage cleared his throat, "It's nice that you two are, on somewhat safer terms, but can we get going?"

"In a rush to see Mia, are you Sage?" Elayne grinned wickedly at him.

The swordsman blushed faintly, "I am not!!!"

"Are too, you so are too!" She let out a muted snigger, and then said coolly, "Actually, you all are, but that's beside the point."

"_WE ARE NOT_!" The five of them hollered at her rather quickly.

"Whatever, I can read minds you know," when she got no response, she burst into laughter, "You guys really are? Oh my gosh, too funny. You do realize she's already taken, right?"

"Elayne, before we decide to strangle you, can we get going?" Cye snapped at her.

"Aww, Cye come on!" The girl gave an impetuous whine, "I was having a good time watching you guys turn colors. ECK!"

She leapt aside, as Ryo tried to grab her; she stuck her tongue out at him, grabbed the check, and waltzed off to the check-out line.

"I do not get that girl," Sage stated with a shake of his head, "Even after knowing her for twelve years."

"You're not the only one," Strata, Torrent, and Hardrock grumbled, rolling their eyes skyward….Wildfire's bearer merely chuckled.

* * *

Ryo slowly got up as the others did, but instead of following them out the door, he went over by Elayne, who was perhaps the second or third person in line…He wasn't really paying attention to that…He was paying more attention to her. 

The girl had a thoughtful look on her face as she fingered the jewel around her neck, the thoughtful look turned into a scowl, and she removed her hand from it. She then snapped her head around to look at him, "What?"

"Is there," he moved to stand beside her, "Any particular reason why you hit me this morning?"

She winced and ducked her head a little, murmuring out, "I'm sorry about that. I…I don't even know why I did it. It's been a bad week and I…" she paused, placing the bill on the counter as well as the necessary money, "Guess I took it out on you."

Ryo sighed through his nose, knowing what she had finished with, wasn't what she'd originally thought to say. He was silent as they walked to the front door, and then spoke, "You've seen something haven't you?"

"Maybe," she quietly replied, doing her best to block the images that had sprung up once he'd asked that question. She then did something he wasn't quite expecting, she hugged him.

"I really am sorry about this morning Ry-chan. I haven't seen you in a long time, and that wasn't exactly a nice way to greet you. 'Cause I did miss you," she released him and then walked on outside where the other four were waiting.

The Ronin of Wildfire scratched his head, and blinked, "I've known her for fifteen years, and even _I_ still don't understand her."

* * *

**Odawara, Japan: Koji/****Yagyu Mansion**

"Coming!" Mia screamed at the doorbell, for the third time.

The young woman had been working on her computer for the past three hours, checking and re-checking her calculations against the current data she had. Oh yes, she had made progress but it wasn't enough.

Her grandfather had prided himself on studying the lesser known myths and legends of this world, as well as collecting the vast amount of information he had on the subject. One day, almost three years ago, Mia had been searching through the computer for something in particular, and stumbled across the hidden data.

According to everything she had found to date, it had been a work in progress, and was a comprehensive guide of every myth and legend ever spoken about. But the one that had caught her eye was because it had the Ronins mentioned in it.

The data was an encrypted note for future reference, it listed where some of the information could be found…And not surprising to the brunette, it mentioned the name 'Mogami.'

Doctor Koji had been on good terms with the family, and had worked closely with a man that represented the estate, Elayne's legal guardian, Nakahara Daiki

Daiki had passed on by the time Mia had stumbled across her Grandfather's files, so she had called up the Estate anyway and had asked to speak to Elayne. The girl had quickly sifted through her library and found a book as well as handwritten notes from Doctor Koji. Since then, Elayne had been spending her free time researching while Mia did the same on her end. Mia had to smile, that had been the start of their now strong friendship, and in that time she had learned plenty about the girl. The main thing being, that she knew each Ronin just like Mia did.

The auburn-haired woman paused in her reflecting on the past and quickly opened the door, relief flooding into her features.

"Heya Koji, mind if we come in?" Elayne gave a slight nod in the Ronins general direction.

"Laney! It's about time you got here," Mia gave the girl a quick hug.

"Sorry, I had to harass the Ronins first; you and I talk once a week, I am lucky if I hear from one of them once a month," the girl stepped into the house, the five young men trailing behind her.

"I had a feeling you'd be showing up pretty soon. I've spent half my day going over everything again. You'll be able to notice that half of the vital information is missing; it's like trying to piece together a jig-saw puzzle that you don't have enough pieces too," Mia explained, it sounded as though she were thoroughly frustrated and the young woman had every right to be.

They had been working on this project for three years, so to still be missing so much of the information was really starting to bother poor Mia. She wanted to be able to find out whether or not the Ronins would ever have to fight again…Though it was true they no longer lived with her and were no longer her responsibility, she still very much considered them her younger brothers. Therefore, she was willing to do anything and everything possible to help them, and she always would be.

"Well, hopefully," Elayne reached into her knapsack, which she had let slink to the floor, and pulled out the floppy disc she had shown to Doctor Koji, "The rest of it is on here."

"Care to include us?" Kento asked, slightly annoyed at being ignored.

"Not really," Elayne grinned, "Just be glad we aren't having girl talk, yet."

Before someone could make a smart reply, she took off to the study, already knowing her way around the house came in handy in occasions such as this.

Mia swore under her breath, not enjoying the fact she had been left to deal with the five young men because she knew they would start teasing her. The whole brother-sister relationship luckily only had that as a negative aspect, but still and all…

"No teasing Mi about her boyfriend, or I'm going to have to point out why I think you guys aren't dating," the girl's voice rang out, having caught the thought.

Mia couldn't help but give a triumphant smirk as she walked off to the study.

The five Ronin Warriors followed, each seething in their own way.

* * *

"Hmm, someone has Mia's typing skills," Sage noted, watching as the girl's hands practically flew across the keyboard. 

"Not quite. Mia has it down to like eighty-two words per minute; I'm only around seventy," Elayne stated, as she continued to search through the database.

Cye chuckled only she would bother to keep track of how many words she typed; he looked a few things over, reflecting on how long it had been since he had been in this room.

The others felt the same sense of familiarity, but they tried hard not to dwell on everything that had happened here. They had other things to worry about; reminiscing could be done later on.

"You never told us what kind of other legends would be included in this file," Rowen remarked, his own curiosity having long-ago overwhelmed him.

"Well, yours for starters," the girl frowned, and she paused a minute, the crystal around her neck glimmered slightly, "And in this file that Mi found that her Grandpa left behind, any and all legends that revolve around Japan."

Ryo caught sight of the glowing jewel, and his brows furrowed in thought, trying to remember if he had ever seen that happen before.

Elayne then inserted the floppy disc she had into the computer, and then downloaded the information, and finally uploaded it.

A bar jumped up on the screen, demanding that a password be entered.

"It's asking for a password?" Mia asked in mild surprise, but she then became apprehensive, "How are we supposed to know it? Grandfather didn't leave any hints for one."

"I wouldn't worry Mia," the girl closed her eyes, the crystal glowing a bit brighter, and she snorted back a laugh, "Oh yeah, real original. 'Guardian' ne? That's the best you could come up with?"

The spirit at her side bristled at the comment, "Shut-up and type it in."

"Yes sir, yes sir," She muttered typing in the password.

Everyone was staring at her in mild shock, seriously starting to worry about her mental health…Except for Sage, he was glaring at the wispy shadow at her side.

His normal sense had told him that a spirit was there, and because of his heightened abilities he could just barely make it out if he focused hard enough.

The computer accepted the password, and immediately began displaying pages upon pages of encrypted data.

"Okay, now what?" The girl inquired of Dr. Koji, impatiently tapping her hand against the desk.

He merely smirked, "Why don't you ask Mia?"

"Fine," She muttered in annoyance, then turned around and looked up, "Supposedly, you should be able to understand this."

The young woman raised an eyebrow, and then directed her gaze back to the screen, her eyes widening in shock, "I don't believe it!"

"What?" Elayne pressed, still unable to understand what it was that she was looking at.

"This is encrypted in the same way the Ronin poem was," Mia murmured still surprised by it.

"No kidding? Wow," the girl muttered, and then began typing again.

"Um what are you doing?" Ryo inquired curiously, shifting his weight slightly. The five Ronin Warriors were starting to feel uncomfortable with just the two women chatting back and forth.

"The Ronin poem was broken by using the seasons as keywords," Mia began slowly, "So this one should be deciphered by using the elements in the same way. I kinda told Elayne about my adventures, after she came out and stated she knew who you were."

"Ya, she has every right to take pride in figuring out her Grandfather's crazy logic system," the girl quipped.

The spirit beside her scowled, "Just because I'm dead, doesn't mean you have a right to stop respecting me."

"Oh come on," She said rolling her eyes, as she broke through the code, "I was only quoting Eytinge-sama to the letter, why don't you go haunt him?"

"I might just do that," The spirit thoughtfully stated.

"Grandfather is here isn't he?" Mia commented, her voice was sympathetic as if this had occurred before…In fact it had quite a few times; most times he came when he wanted, but the first time it was because Elayne had called for him.

"Mhm, he's been hounding me since the beginning of August," the girl miserably muttered, "Been half-way tempted to toss this stupid crystal."

"Spirits are restless?" The Ronin of Halo inquired, furrowing his brows. If the spirits were upset, then that would explain why Elayne had been worrying about his and the others safety. He was aware of the fact the spirits only became on edge when something was going to happen in the mortal realm.

"Very; every seer I know is edgy…Even the animals are worried," She replied, scrolling through the long list of decoded information, "Something is up, the appearance of Raikken definitely prove that."

"What!" Mia gasped audibly, while Doctor Koji cried, "Are you serious?"

"Ow!" Elayne winced, her ears now ringing, "Thank you both, I am officially completely deaf."

"Sorry," the two commented with slight smiles.

The girl rolled her eyes, and paused a minute another frown on her face, "What's the other password?"

"Oh I think you know," the spirit smugly stated, adding, "Don't forget to tell her," before vanishing.

Elayne let out a sigh and leaned back into the chair, the crystal falling silent.

"You okay?" The Hardrock Ronin inquired.

"Mhm," she mumbled, massaging the point in between her eyebrows, "It's just been a long couple of weeks, and I have a suspicion it's only going to get worse."

The girl sighed, and thought about it for a minute, and then the smallest of smiles lit up her face, "Grandpa, I love you. You're a genius!"

She quickly typed something in, what Mia couldn't exactly catch. The computer once more sprang to life, displaying the correct information.

"Yay!" Elayne chirped happily, "I'm not as dumb as I look after all."

The Ronin of Trust frowned, as he and the others read over the girl's shoulder, "Who are the Sailor Senshi?"

The girl frowned, "Just a minute, I want to see if I can…" She paused as she came to the section on the Raikken.

Cye scanned the information displayed, and let out a low whistle, "So they've been around longer than Talpa and his goons?"

"No," The girl shook her head, "Just as long, this information isn't completely accurate. I have some of Doctor Koji's notes at home that give more exact dates."

"What do the two have to do with the other or us for that matter?" Kento queried, not placing an immediate connection; to be honest none of the Ronins were.

"The Sailor Senshi or Sailor Scouts are warriors, much like yourselves. The noted exception them being female, and that they derive their powers from the planets in our solar system. You five derive your power from the elements, while the four Warlords from that of the seasons. Anubis was spring, Cale is winter; Sekhmet and Dais I always get mixed up…But I think Dais is summer, and that Sekhmet is fall. Not too sure…"

"HOLD IT! You know the Warlords?" Ryo was close to screaming this at her.

Elayne rolled her eyes, "I've known about your legend for almost as long as Mia has. Yeah, I know about the Warlords, and Lady Kayura. Ryo, we haven't spoken in almost nine years. However, it doesn't apply to everyone else in this room; I already knew who you were because I was around when you received your armors. So what I couldn't figure out by reading, I got told. Plain and simple."

"Back to the matter at hand," She shot a dark look at him, silently daring for him to interrupt again, "About a thousand years ago the planets were at peace, but the Negaverse struck…"

The Ronin of Strata easily picked up from there, "Their Queen was Beryl, an underling to Queen Metallia. The Negaverse, or the Dark Kingdom, is a lot like the Dynasty in some respects. Metallia and Beryl weren't much different than Talpa…Though while Metallia was more interested in taking control of the earth, Beryl had a personal vendetta against the Moon Kingdom."

"It was literally located on the Moon, while Beryl was taking over earth, her sight set on the Moon Kingdom, Metallia had the forces conquer the planetary kingdoms. Each Sailor Scout had the power of their respective planet, and according to an American mythologist they were each a princess of their own planet. A Japanese mythologist believes they were different people, in any case the Senshi each had transformation pendants that allowed them to use great power in order to fight off their enemy."

"However," Rowen frowned, as he thought it all over in his head, "Metallia, Beryl and the Dark Kingdom proved to be too much, and as a last resort Queen Serenity used the Ginzuishou, or Imperium Silver Crystal, to seal Metallia, Beryl and the Dark Kingdom, as well as to send the fallen Senshi to be reborn in the future."

Rowen's friends gaped at him, they had all thought of him as a geek, but he had just proven how right they were.

Elayne was quite impressed; the Strata Ronin hadn't struck her as the type of person who would be interested in such things, "Why didn't you tell me you were a legend buff?"

"I wanted to surprise you," the blue-haired man winked, before becoming serious, "But, what does this legend have to do with us?"

She was just a tad disappointed that he hadn't figured it out yet, he knew almost everything, and yet he hadn't placed the connection, either? Or maybe he just didn't want to voice the possible connection; Rowen only spoke if he knew for fact that he was correct, like any other reputable genius, he hated having people prove him wrong. That might stem from the fact that he never really got approval from his father…

Elayne silently swore at herself for having gone onto another one of her famed 'character analysis' episodes, heavens knew she did that often enough; "Stop referring to it as legend, because it isn't one."

"What? They are real? You are kidding me!" The Warrior of Strength protested, the other's looks conveyed they agreed with Kento.

"I am talking to the five Ronin Warriors, aren't I? You aren't supposed to be real, but you are, right?" Elayne inquired of them; they all gave mere nods in response.

* * *

"Do these 'Senshi' live around the Tokyo area?" the Halo Ronin inquired of the girl.

Just to make it look as though she didn't already know it as fact, she took a glance at the computer screen; "Mhm, supposedly that's where they were sent."

The bearer of Wildfire was looking over the information in the upper left-hand corner, "The Raikken are underlings to a dark master, who was imprisoned a millennia and a half ago. The being is still locked away, but he has two henchmen that do his bidding."

He mused over this for a minute, and then pondered out loud, "So why wait to attack now?"

Elayne took a slow and deep breath, "Because his allies have failed him."

"_WHAT?_" Came the simultaneous yelling.

"I knew I shouldn't have said that," the girl grumbled, "Look, someone is calling the shots right now, and I'm not allowed to tell you anything because I wasn't supposed to figure it out. I'm sorry; I know it sucks, but right now I'm not in the position where I can argue."

Elayne opened a link to the internet, and sent the information to three other people, but she typed so fast the Strata Ronin couldn't catch the names.

"Well, we really do have another fight on our hands then," The Ronin of Trust murmured.

Ryo let out a sigh, "Ya, I guess so."

"Hey it could be worse," Hardrock's bearer commented, "We could be at each other's throats, making it easy for the enemy to do away with us."

Mia gave a slight nod, "Kento does have a point."

"Let's just hope, that if we do run into these 'Scouts' that they'll be on our side," Rowen stated calmly

"Where are you all going to stay?" The thought suddenly struck the young woman; she looked at her friends worriedly. She didn't like the thought of them having to fight again, but if they were going to have to…Well, she was willing to offer them a place here once more.

"With her," Ryo moodily grumbled, pointing his index finger at Elayne, who responded by sticking her tongue out at him.

"Oh, I was going to say…" Mia began uncertainly, not sure how to word this correctly.

The blonde swordsman chuckled, coming out of his brief trance, "Thank you Mia, but we don't need to intrude. I think you're entitled to a nice private life…"

"Besides, your boyfriend may not like the idea of five fully grown men…"

Elayne clamped her hand over Rowen's mouth, scolding, "Shush you, I know _exactly _what's coming out of that smart mouth next," She looked to Mia, "Speaking of the hottie you managed to snag…"

The young woman turned a due shade of pink, "Elayne!"

The girl smirked, and released the Strata Ronin, quickly grabbing her female friend by the arm and before dragging her out of the room, said, "Be back in a minute, guys. It's time for girl talk now."

All they managed to hear from the next room was silence, then a joyful shriek coming from Mia.

* * *

Elayne sauntered back into the room, and checked to make sure that the files had been copied to the hard-drive and the floppy disc, before ejecting it, and placing it back in her knapsack, "Thanks for your help Mi, I'll keep ya informed." 

"Stay good you, and try and keep the guys out of trouble," the young woman said with a wink.

"Ha, keep them out of trouble?" The girl asked with an arched eyebrow. "Do I even remotely look like I'm _capable_ of wearing a mystical armor?"

"HEY!" Five young men narrowed their eyes at their little sister, beyond annoyed having caught the implied meaning there all too easily.

Elayne merely grinned in response; one thing that hadn't changed about those five was the fact that they were _still_ too easy to get at.

* * *

_1: I'm sure by now it obvious that I'm using British slang when Cye speaks and before any of you decide to bash me with a large lead pipe let me explain. Shin and Cye are the same person and both are fully Japanese, I know; however, the Britt Speak and accent (when Cye talks in English) are something from the dub I just won't get rid of. In this world, I'm using the information from Sunrise's first draft of the series where Shin's father was the president of a company. So, Mr. Mouri was required to make several trips to England (while he was alive) and he often took Cye with him, in order to help his son get a better grasp of the English language and learn about a different country's culture. Cye couldn't help but pick up the accent and the terms ;-)_

_A/N: Thanks very much for the reviews last chapter, made my day. Hopefully you won't mind if I answer some of the things you brought up here. :-)_

_The Scouts don't really come in until the later chapters, and as I might have mentioned before, their role is as supporting characters. I've read way too many RW/SM crossovers that push the Ronins to the back, and only bring them to the front for 'romantic-mushy' scenes makes face_

_On that note, I do not care for the cliché RW/SM pairings, so don't plan on seeing that here. I do think Kento and Mina would be adorable together though (but I have someone else in mind for Kento). At any rate, there are no pairings in Book One at all. Book Two there will be some hinting, but I don't plan to make any official 'this-person-is-dating-that-person' statements until Book Three. I might change my mind for a few characters, but that remains to be seen._

_As far as the Warlords are concerned, well I'll let the story do the talking for me. :)_


	9. Chapter 8: Planned Encounters?

**Chapter Eight: **

"**Planned Encounters?"**

**Tokyo: ****Hikawa Shrine**

After receiving a vast variety of information in an e-mail from Elayne, and printing out the most important, Ami had called up Serena asking her to gather the others, so that they could meet at the Shrine.

The Sailor of Mercury had known about Elayne's fetish for mythology and legends, and had approached the girl to ask if she could find out anything about the demons they had encountered.

Ordinarily, Ami wouldn't have gone to someone outside the Senshi, but she had tried to come up with information on her own, and had no luck at all. After approaching Elayne, the girl had explained to the Inner Scout about a project she was working on with a friend. She seemed to believe that this friend had the information Ami was looking for, as Elayne only had half of it.

Well, it seemed Elayne had been right, because the data and description on the Raikken fit perfectly with the odd-samurai demons they had been fighting.

Ami put down the last of the paper she had printed up, having now finished reading it all aloud. So they were fighting minions that worked under some sort of demon that didn't have a listed name? That was just so helpful; about as helpful as finding out a store was having a sale, the day after the sale.

At least they had a name for the minions now, and a general understanding of how they worked…Other than that, they had nothing…Aside from the interesting myth of the 'Yorioden Samurai Troopers,' or 'Ronin Warriors' as they were called by an American mythologist.

Mercury looked up, and sighed knowing the others weren't thinking about their enemy at all, undoubtedly more focused on these 'Ronin.'

"Wow," Lita murmured, "So, these guys are warriors like us?"

"Mhm, except their powers are based on the elements," Ami was close to rolling her eyes just like she had suspected. The only reason the Sailor of Jupiter was interested, was because the word 'guy' had been spoken.

"Wouldn't it be awesome to meet them?" Mina sighed dreamily.

Rei and Serena seemed to be in another world as well.

The blue-haired girl gave a long miserable sigh, why did she get stuck with friends that could never take anything seriously?

"Oh, are we going to the Lounge tonight?" The Fire Senshi suddenly inquired, "I heard that the WannaBe's are playing."

"They are?" Mina came out of her daze in an instant.

Ami's brows pricked into a frown, trying to figure out what on earth her friends were talking about this time.

"The girls we met at the Estate, Ames," Serena brought in, having caught the confused look.

"Oh, that's right," the blue-haired teen mumbled, "Count me in, I enrolled, but the University says they can't find my papers."

"Great!" The brunette chimed in now, then quickly said, "Uh not so great about you missing out on a semester, but great as in: when do they start?"

"Eight," Rei calmly replied, barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

* * *

**Tokyo City **

The Outer Senshi were going through similar paces as that of the Inner at this moment, having also been sent the information. Having been unable to come up with anything on their own, they too had ended up turning to the girl. Michelle was aware that Nakahara-san had been interested in mythology and uncommon legends, so if anyone would have the information it would've been him.

In the end it turned out the man had been working on something with a friend of his, who was also now deceased, so Elayne only had half of what they needed. However, she had explained she was friends with the professor's granddaughter, and that they were working on piecing everything together. She had promised to send them the information as soon as she got it, and the girl had come through.

Now, whether the Outer Senshi knew the Inner had also gone to the girl to get the data they were now piling over was doubtful, Elayne kept things like that to herself and she was also a very big fan of the 'blind carbon copy' feature.

Michelle frowned as she paused to listen to Amara, she tilted her head to study the blonde.

"So, these Ronin Warriors are also stuck in this mess?" She asked raising a golden eyebrow.

"If what Michelle is reading is correct at least," came Lindsay's response, "Otherwise, who knows?"

"You're not being very helpful," the Senshi of Saturn muttered in annoyance, "Just for once, can't you take anything seriously and at face value?"

The woman seemed to think it over, replying with, "Nope."

Trista gave a mere roll of her eyes, it was easy for her to ignore Lindsay she knew how to tune the woman out, "At least we know for certain what we are dealing with now. I think it's time we tried to meet up with the Inner Senshi."

"Oh?" The Scout of the Galaxy perked up, "Pray tell, exactly how do you plan to track them down?"

"Why Lindsay," The Senshi of Neptune offered a sarcastic smile, "One would have thought, you'd remember when the WannaBe's last and final gig was. After all, didn't you help that Callista girl as band manager?"

Silver eyes widened in complete shock, "Heavens! I completely forgot what month it was. But hey," A smirk crept across her face, "That means little cousin will be there."

Amara let out a groan, shooting to Michelle across the mind link, _'You just had to say something, didn't you?'_

The Scout merely tipped up her head, and offered a _'hmph'_ in response.

"But how do you know they'll be there?" Lindsay inquired raising an eyebrow.

Trista let out a sigh through her nose, it should have been obvious, but she forgot how clueless the young woman could be; "If they aren't going already, we'll call them and ask to meet there."

"Oh," was all she could come up with in the form of a response.

* * *

**Tokyo Outskirts **

"Remind me again, we have to walk after having been on a train for so long, because?" The Hardrock Ronin grunted.

Sage gave a roll of his violet eyes, "We need the exercise."

"You maybe," the Strata Ronin shot, "But I could do without."

"Do the rest of us a favor, and save the banter for later," Cye grumbled in irritation, having already broken up three of these types of arguments so far.

The Wildfire Ronin gave a nod, "Ya, after all Cye's getting tired of stepping in."

The girl was oddly silent, having switched over to rollerblades the minute they'd left the station, and she had yet to speak a word.

"Elayne?" The Warrior of Wisdom inquired, as though he had suddenly realized who had yet to speak.

"Hn?" She mumbled in response.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine Sage, just trying to think up a viable excuse not to go to the Exchange Lounge tonight." Well that was just one of her many thoughts at this point in time. The other would be the valid question Kento had brought up; why were they walking? The sole reason for that was because Elayne hadn't felt like dealing with whoever came to pick them up. She had only been able to get brief word to a Board member that she was inviting people to stay for a bit.

She hadn't given full details, or anything of that sort...And Elayne was smart enough to know the minute any female laid eye on the five young men, word would get around twenty-miles in three-minutes. Meaning, she would not get a chance to properly talk with certain people, before they found out in a rather rude way. Plus, the only people who would be willing to pick her up, weren't at home anyway.

"What'cha mean?" Rowen asked in confusion, slowing his pace to study her.

The girl frowned, he had forgotten? "Remember the girls I ended up living with back in America?"

"Mhm," the Hardrock Ronin gave a slight nod.

"Remember, that I managed to 'tweak' the exchange program at their school to get them over here their senior year, since only one of them qualified?" She got a nod from Cye and continued, "Well, needless to say after much more 'Mogami' influence, they ended up becoming permanent residents of the Estate. I can't tell you how badly I wanted to torch any and all paperwork I saw from that day forth."

The Ronin of Strata let out a laugh, "I believe it; so, what about this lounge place?"

Elayne turned her head and looked over her shoulder, "They're musicians. They started a band after they left America, and are actually quite popular among the locals over here. The Exchange Lounge is not the club's real name, but it's what everyone calls it. Hang-out preferred by any and all exchange students in this country."

"Why don't you want to go?" Ryo asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Because I'm tired, and I have company, but," the girl looked over her shoulder again, "If you guys want to go, say the word and I'll take you."

She came to a halt outside the gates, and had to let out a groan when she heard the guys reaction to seeing the Estate.

"WOW!"

'_This was not one of my better ideas,' _Elayne moodily thought to herself, pausing, _'Then again, this wasn't my idea in the first place, it was the Elders.'_

* * *

Rowen stood on the observation deck behind the apartment, looking out over the grounds in pure awe. The girl had left them to themselves, after giving them the keys to the top floor. The apartment itself was more like a mini-house with one floor. 

Five bedrooms, a kitchen, a small den, two bathrooms…Here the Strata Ronin had to chuckle, that was one way to avoid Sage hogging it. No, his best friend was not that vain about his appearance…It's just that one day Sage tried to change the style of his hair. After two-and-a-half-hours in the bathroom, the man had given up his hair absolutely refusing to cooperate.

Needless to say, the other four had not forgotten about the incident and had a habit of bringing it up every now and again; much to the Halo Ronin's dismay.

Ryo shook his head in mirth, coming up behind his friend, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

He laughed, "Yes. I'm wondering if she didn't have that added."

"On such short notice?" Kento snorted quirking an eye-brow at the blue-haired man.

"Knowing our dear Elayne…" Cye left the sentence hanging, each knowing full well the ending to the sentence.

"You four are talking about me, aren't you?" Sage accused deciding to join them.

"Nah, not a chance," the Ronin of Strata gave a smug grin.

"Rowen, I'm over half a room away and I know you're lying," Elayne's voice rang out.

"Back so soon?" Ryo pretended to be disappointed at her sudden return.

"Well, someone had to make sure Blaze got here all right," she gave him a look that said, '_which-should-have-been-you.'_ "I managed to get him past everyone without an issue though. Lucky for us, huh boy?"

White Blaze rubbed into her leg and gave a deep purr in agreement with her statement.

"So when do we head over to the Lounge?" Rowen was just a tiny bit curious to see what the deal was about these girls.

Having made their way into the Estate like they had, he had caught bits of excited conversation about the all-girl band. It seemed that Elayne was right, the 'WannaBe's' were quite popular.

The girl smirked at him, "Not even here a day and you are already going girl shopping, geez Rowie."

"HEY! **Do not** call me that!" He snapped at her, quickly adding, "And I am not!"

"Liar," Kento and Cye teased the archer, noting the slight blush on his face.

"Come on Rowen, you hang out with Sage," the Wildfire Ronin pointed out, enjoying the chance to join in on the banter.

"For your information, I am not…"

Elayne quickly clamped her hands over Sage's mouth, so he couldn't finish.

"Sage, dear," the girl gave a sympathetic sigh, "You are trying to explain something to a deaf man. Don't waste your breath."

"Why you little brat!" Ryo growled at her, more than tempted to launch himself at the girl.

Elayne gave a triumphant smile, releasing Sage she said, "I'll see you downstairs gentlemen, I have to change. People hate having me go out in public looking like this."

The girl rolled her eyes, and without waiting for an acknowledgement left.

* * *

Instead of walking, this time they took a car, more notably the extra van the WannaBe's kept. The men had been a little surprised when Elayne had climbed into the driver's seat, the girl ended up having to point out the fact that she was eighteen. 

Needless to say after that announcement, and having their jaws drop to the floor, the drive was done in silence. Possibly due to the Ronins embarrassment of having forgotten her age, and more likely due to the girl's annoyance that they thought she was still a little kid.

She parked around the back, and muttered, "We're here."

Without another word she got out of the car, and locked her door, letting it slam shut, causing each Ronin to wince at the sound.

Elayne shot one glance over her shoulder, quirking an eyebrow at them, silently inquiring as to what was keeping them.

The five Ronins exchanged looks, then exited the vehicle and followed after her.

'_Hmm, someone's watching us,'_ Sage frowned, and looked around the room. It was dark in here, much darker than to his tastes, and granted they had only entered a mere five minutes before…But, he couldn't help but feel eyes on him.

Elayne tilted her head at him confused as to why he stopped, then shrugged and sat down in a bar stool.

After several minutes had passed the Ronin of Halo could see clearly, and his violet-eyes darted around the room, coming to rest on four young women.

He raised his eyebrows in questioning at the red-head who had been watching him.

She gave a small smile in return, and then whispered something to her companion, who had azure blue and cerulean streaked hair.

This woman looked up, a thoughtful frown on her face, and she then elbowed the platinum blonde sitting next to her.

The woman whirled, a playful smile quickly lighting up her features, she said something, but what he couldn't catch. He was too far away to read her lip movements clearly.

The woman sitting next to her had midnight blue hair, with sky blue streaks; and her reaction was more amusing, when she turned around, her jaw nearly hit the floor.

Kirstin recovered and then grinned, _'Layne, wow you brought back cute guys after all!'_

Elayne snorted inwardly, stirring the lime water she had ordered, _'I always keep my promises, don't I?'_

'_Cute? What planet are you from, they are way hott!'_ That was undoubtedly Vanessa.

The girl made a gagging sound in her mental voice, _'Them? Cut me a break, Ness! They are nothing to drool over.'_

'_Says you Layne, you are thinking of them as older brothers,'_ Aurora shot, continuing to size up the five men.

'_Please say at least one of them is single?'_ Callista murmured hopefully.

Elayne gave a roll of her hazel-violet eyes, _'Last time I checked, they all were.'_

'_YES!'_ The four women chorused loudly.

'_Girls,' _she thought to herself irritably, _'They act more like high-school teenagers than I do, and they're older than me!'_

Sage frowned, as he tapped Elayne on the shoulder, "We're being watched."

"I know," She grimaced a tiny bit, "That'd be the girls."

"Introduce us already," Kento elbowed her with a wink.

"I don't have to, they are coming over here," Elayne swiveled around to face the four approaching women.

Vanessa had the reputation for being the most out-going of the four-girl band, she put on her trade-mark smile that she used back in high-school. It was the one that made raging mad teachers turn into tame kittens, heavens knew she had gotten out of enough detentions with _that_ smile; "Hi there! Eytinge Vanessa. I play the piano for our rag-tag band here."

She surveyed the five young men, letting her eyes linger on Cye for a moment as something about him felt oddly familiar; before turning to Elayne, "Girlie, you didn't say you were going shopping."

Elayne smirked at her friend, picking up her usual line when introducing the four young women to any of her 'oniichans', "I didn't go shopping, I just _'found'_ them."

Aurora laughed a little, "You always do find the good ones. I'm Wimund Aurora, lead singer and main guitarist."

As true to his upbringing, the Ronin of Halo politely spoke up, "Date Sage, pleasure."

"Sometimes I wish I had your luck," the other woman told Elayne with a wink, then addressed the five young men, "My name is Griffith Callista. I'm the other singer, and guitarist. As well as band coordinator."

"Hashiba Rowen," The Strata Ronin stated after several minutes pause; he was impressed that the women were familiar with traditional Japanese custom.

'_They've only been living here for about two years,' _Elayne broke in over the mind link, _'But they've been studying the culture and customs for at least five. If they don't know most of it by now, they're hopeless. Actually, they already are hopeless.'_

"Hmm, you either 'find' guys, or get them for free. You gotta tell me your secret one of these days," Kirstin commented to her friend, "Blair Nozomi. I tend to go by my middle name, 'Kirstin.' I'd be the drummer, since I can't carry a tune to save my soul."

"The extremely stunned ones…" Elayne pointed to the remainder in turn, "That's Mouri Cye, Rei Faun Kento and," Here her voice became filled with boredom, as she jerked her thumb at Ryo, "This guy is the biggest pain I've ever dealt with."

Ryo elbowed her sharply, giving her a warning glare, "Sanada Ryo."

Elayne shoved him for payback, stating coolly, "Do that again, and you'll end up on your rear end, buddy."

The women snickered, and Aurora spoke up, "Ah so you're the poor soul that had to deal with Elayne? We feel your pain."

"I'll give you four a one way ticket back to America if you keep it up," the girl teasingly warned.

"Come up with a better line, Laney," Vanessa commented in English and rolled her eyes; though she was amused with the statement.

"I would, but the comedy club is two blocks down," The girl remarked in-kind, sounding quite forlorn.

Cye chuckled a little, remarking in accented English, "They wouldn't let you in there. Your wise-cracks would prove to be too much for those poor fools."

_'OH! So mine! He's got a British accent, I am in love!'_ Vanessa rang out cheerfully.

Elayne bit back the urge to laugh at her friend, and only shook her head in amusement, yup, still carried on like high-school teenagers.

'_Wow,' _Callista was surprised that Cye spoke with such an accent, and couldn't help but wonder, _'Hey are they all bilingual?' _

'_Mhm, except for Kento,' _the girl answered,_ 'He's tri-lingual, his parents are Chinese.'_

The Hardrock Ronin grinned stating, "Sometimes they prove to be too much for us."

"Agreed," The other four men stated at once.

Kirstin snickered, "Oh yeah, we hear ya. Uh-oh better scramble ladies. Otherwise we'll feel the wrath of Lindsay."

"Oh joy," the other three muttered, rolling their eyes; they bowed politely to the young men before walking away.

"Ack!" Elayne gasped, fear hitting her upon hearing the name.

She wrapped her hands around the arm of the closest Ronin to her, which unfortunately for him, happened to be Sage.

"What's the matter with you?" The blonde swordsman asked in complete confusion.

"Hide me!" The girl pitifully whimpered, "She's here; I didn't think she would be. Please, hide me?"

Wildfire's bearer tried very hard not to burst out laughing, knowing what was going through her head; he settled for chuckling instead, "Something the matter Elayne?"

"Shove it Ryo," She spat back in annoyance, then turned imploring eyes to Sage, "Don't let any woman with green-hair and silver-eyes within fifteen feet of me, please!"

"Oh grief," the Ronin of Trust muttered, recalling an occasion where he had seen someone like that, "Isn't that the girl that was basically parading you like a doll around during that social event?"

"I think you're in trouble mei mei," the Warrior of Strength commented, "Cause there's someone coming this way that fits your description."

"It's worse than that, Cye. That _'girl'_ is my cousin," Elayne groaned slumping in her seat, and muttered under her breath, "Someone up there completely hates me, I know it!"

All of a sudden the girl realized that it was going to be a very long night.

* * *

_A/N: See, I didn't completely forget about the Senshi after all :D _

_Thanks a lot for reviewing the previous chapter. I'm glad to hear that Elayne is liked; and that some of you don't view her as being a MS. I still consider her one simply because she isn't part of the original cast of either show. I've just tried to make her as 'human' as possible, thus staying away from the MS's we all dread. _

_Elayne was sort of like Ryo's adopted sister. She was more or less shoved on the Sanada family because her legal guardian did not feel like being bothered with her (but that's another story). The two of them grew up together (for a while); however, they never really shared a brother-sister relationship. _

_Yeah, it's safe to say she was mad about that. Ryo tried to protect her, by not worrying her or involving her at ll...Instead, he made her worry twice as much and got hit for it. Poor guy, he just can't win. _


	10. Chapter 9: A Mystery or Two

**Chapter Nine: **

"**A Mystery or Two"**

The ancient tunnels were dark and dank; it was if the blackness had swallowed the light whole.

It was quiet, save for the sound of heeled-boots connecting with the hard granite surface that served at the cavern's floor.

As the being approached, it could vaguely make out the dim lighting from one of the side-tunnels.

Patrolling had become habit for her, even though after six hundred years without so much as a wild animal trespassing, there was little need for it.

Then again, she had never been able to sit idle, patience was of little use to her, but for the past nine-hundred years she had been quite patient, and soon, she hoped her patience would be rewarded.

What sounded like a chuckle escaped from her ice-blue lips, as she came to a halt outside the tunnel's entrance; she placed a hand on her hip, her snowy white skin reflecting in the little light available.

Her voice could remind one of a morning's frosts, chilling and deadly, "Well, what news have you, brother?"

Grumblings reached her ears, as soldiers were dismissed, and he stepped out.

His skin was darker than hers, and made him look almost human; if it weren't for the demon-like ears, and the darkness about his presence, he could've passed.

He crossed his hands across his armored chest; the armor he wore was similar to that of the Raikken's, though it was of less weight, and covered only his body not his head.

Whereas her voice was morning frost, his was like a thick and deep blizzard, "Impatience is starting to get the better of you, Kali. Master…"

Here she seemed ruffled, as she hissed out, "Are things going according to plan, or not?"

He raised an off-white eyebrow at her, glancing at her armor which he had always found distasteful, "Can you not rid yourself of that Amazon-looking attire? No enemy will take you seriously…"

"Thanos," She screeched at him in aggravation, "Answer my question! I don't give a care about your opinion in my choice of armor; we go through this argument every half-century!"

He offered her a smirk, "I know, and I do so love this squabble; one of my favorites out of our many."

Thanos enjoyed nothing more than annoying his younger sister when she least suspected it, she had over the past few centuries done nothing more than drive him clear up a wall with her irritating, sarcastic and snide comments. Any chance to 'ruffle her feathers' as he had often heard the humans say, was a good one to him, and sometimes a necessary one.

"I'm still waiting," snapped Kali; her temper had something in common with her patience; it was extremely short, even for an ice demonness.

While she had been around far longer than the Hindu religion, she was more than aptly named…Once the demonness had started fighting, nothing could stop her from going all the way.

He merely offered a shrug of his broad shoulders, "As well as can be expected. The warriors have yet to come together, and when they do, well…" Thanos coughed clearing his throat, "Master doubts they'll last very long. The one that could quell their fights, and keep their tempers from clashing is dead. Beryl nearly killed her, the Raikken finished the job; they confirmed it."

"Hm, I still do not believe you should give these humans so little credit," the ice demonness slowly said, and then elaborated, "Let us face it dear brother, they were strong the last time Master fought them. But, in this life time they defeated the allies without any outside intervention. They may not go down as easy as we hope."

He waved his hand in dismissal, "You worry too much. Even if they do manage to last long enough, Master will destroy them once he is free. Has he not done so before?"

"He has," Kali nodded, "I just wish to be cautious, and that is all. They might have learned new attacks…They are more powerful than they were the last time."

"True," the ice demon thoughtfully stroked his chin, "But without a guide, and their memories, they are not powerful enough. The elders can be of no aid, one of the spies to the last Council meeting almost a millennia ago reported that the elders could do nothing to bring the warriors together. That was to be _her_ job, and she's _dead_."

"What if they find someone else?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

He stroked his chin thoughtfully, "I doubt they could. I am certain that they've been trying to find an outsider, plant it in the human's head that they need to meet certain people, and then hope that the person would then get to meet the other warriors in turn. Once this is done, I am sure they would appear to the person; so, yes, I very much doubt it."

"Because?"

"Even if the elders found someone who could get along with most of the warriors, or the more important ones, say the leader's of each group for instance, any human would scream and panic after seeing the spirits of the dead. Then after suffering to listen to the odd-tale, go to…Oh what do those humans call it?"

Kali let out a merry chuckle, knowing exactly where this was going, "A _'shrink'_?"

"Ah yes, that's it!" He snapped his fingers in recognition of the word, and continued on, "Very doubtful indeed. Even if the elders went to what the humans call a 'seer' I have heard from several well-to-do demons that most, if not all of those people are fakes. There's little to no chance, Master believes the game is already won. You should not trouble yourself any longer."

The ice demonness gave a mere nod of acknowledgement, but she felt that somehow both her brother and Master were wrong about something, though she could not place what that something was.

* * *

The warrior paused, having picked up the conversation taking place just at the edge of her senses.

A darkened scowl formed across her face as she heard it, and then reduced to a frown as the discussion came to a close.

Thanos' theories were completely correct; the elders had been trying for years to find the right person to serve as a link.

Male or female, young and old, those with certain abilities and those without any at all; the spirits had tried everything imaginable to come up with someone who would get along with the warriors, and be able to understand the matter at hand.

The only part where he was wrong was in the fact that someone _had_ been found to breach the gap.

The elders had almost given up hope, when they realized that the one that could do all this had been right in front of them the entire time.

They hadn't thought much of her before, since she was too young at the time they had been looking, and built far too weakly to handle fights with demons without becoming seriously injured…But her soul, her inner strength more than made up for that, as well as her love for the warriors she knew.

It was mainly the elders' fault that this girl now knew each of the warriors.

Though they had no hand in her meeting with the Ronins and forming the relationship she now attained with the five, it was their fault for the members of the Inner and Outer Senshi accepting her.

The warrior scowled once more, before going back to jumping in and out of trees' shadows, _'I still can't believe I've been replaced.'_

Suddenly the young female warrior bolted from the darkness that had helped to hide her aura and form.

She halted, quickly dropping to one knee, and spoke in a soft-voice, "I am here."

The energy was filled with energy, spiritual energy to be precise. This clearing long ago had played host to the Great Council meetings, and it now served as a meeting spot for her and the elders.

"Very well then," A voice stated, belonging to that of a slightly older female.

A masculine voice now intruded, "Please tell us what you have to report."

The warrior looked up, violet-hazel eyes shining brightly, "The warriors are now all in Tokyo. They have met one another only as normal people, and not what they truly are. But, it will be only a matter of time before the enemy moves against them once more. They moved last night without trouble."

"Yes," The woman spoke; she was wearing attire that reminded one of 18th century England. "We weren't prepared for that."

"Also, the enemy believes there is no link, that is, no possible way to unite the warriors. I guess they aren't counting on the misfit you chose."

The man chuckled, he appeared to be wearing what could easily pass for a Shinto priest's attire, and yet…There seemed to be more to him than that; "We chose her justly. She exhibited the right attitude, and got along with those that we needed her to. Right now, she is the only who can help us, if we had been allowed we would've revealed ourselves to a warrior…"

"But as it stands," The Scout gave a sigh, knowing the argument by heart, as she recited it from memory, "We are not allowed to directly intervene. You can help only after they come together, and I can only intrude when the right moment comes along."

"All will be well," the woman murmured encouragingly, "We made the right choice…She would have…"

The warrior visibly stiffened, saying in a tone of regret, "I know."

"Continue to keep watch," The male spirit shifted slightly, "Report back when you have a need to. You are dismissed."

She stood, keeping her head politely bowed, "As you wish Kaosu, Queen Serenity; until the next time."

The minute their presences left, she looked up and around, before slipping into a shadow provided by an old gnarled tree.

"So far so good, I just hope that they'll be able to work together and get through this," She muttered, all the while silently cursing the fates that she could do nothing more than watch.

This Scout was neither a true warrior nor hero, for her role was minuscule and her task a relatively simple one; she certainly wasn't as strong as the Ronins or even Sailor Saturn for that matter, but she was loyal and a decent fighter.

She knew her place, but if things started to get out of hand…If orders came across that even remotely contravened her conscious…She would have no choice but to disobey them directly, or modify them so that she could carry them out without concern.

"For now," Her voice was lower than before, edged with a slight pain and a deep sorrow, "I will patiently abide the rules, and wait."

* * *

_A/N: __I apologize for the absence; the second to last week in July we went on vacation, the wekend after that my cat fell ill...He died last Wednesday (the 8th), so I'm doing what I can to cope, because he was a vital part of my life for thirteen-years. So that's why I haven't updated._

_Kaosu is what he was called in YST; but those who watch RW would know him as the 'Ancient One'. I'm not sure if I have made this comment before (I think I have), but TGOL is a combination of sub and dub information, thus both names do apply. Further, I believe I failed to make it clear that the last half of the Sailor Stars season did NOT happen for this story; meaning Galaxia and the Sailor Stars don't happen to exist in this universe. Why? By the time I came across the Stars season, I had already created a Sailor of the Galaxy: Lindsay. _

_Now, I had thought about switching Lindsay with Sailor Galaxia, or making it so that they were the same person. But neither option would have worked well, especially since most of TGOL was already written with Lindsay being who and how she is. And I'd rather get complaints about leaving the last-half of Stars out, then have complaints about characters being OOC. _

_And I'm sure most of you are wondering when there will be some more in-depth action, just bear with me for a bit. TGOL was far too fast paced, this time I've spaced it out so it reads better. If I had left things alone, Kali and Thanos would have shown up in Chapter Six, that was far too soon in my opinion. _


	11. Chapter 10: A Legendary Meeting

**Chapter Ten: **

"**A Legendary Meeting"**

* * *

Lindsay had spied her cousin walking into the building with five extremely nice looking young men. She recalled seeing the red-headed young man some years before at a social gathering event Nakahara-san had set up, as for the others? Well, she didn't recall seeing them before…Well she might have, because they felt familiar. 

"What are you looking at?" Michelle asked idly sipping at her drink.

Lindsay quickly smirked, "Elayne just walked in."

Hotaru let out a low moan; it was times like these she really felt sorry for Lindsay's cousin…Galaxy you could get along with all too easily, but Lindsay was horrendous to try and stand.

Amara gave a snort, "You're more interested in those five men she brought in."

"Oh you know me so well," the woman smirked, running a hand through her green-hair, "I'll be back." She got up and made her way over to the group.

"Who's going to save Elayne this time?" Trista inquired raising an eyebrow; the older Senshi had developed a habit of dragging Lindsay away in order to give the young girl a breather.

Amara and Michelle just shrugged carelessly to the question, both still trying to locate the Inner Senshi…But the club was so crowded tonight, it was hard to see them.

* * *

"Elayne, nice to see you," Lindsay sweetly said, batting her eyelashes. 

_'Wish the feeling was mutual,'_ Elayne mentally grumbled, though she said aloud, "Where have you been Lindsay? I was worried."

Both knew the other was lying anyway; it was just their way of dealing with each other…They acted polite and semi-affectionate in public, but that was as far as they would go.

"Oh, just hanging out with Trista and the girls," Lindsay tossed her pretty head, studying the young men, "I see you found more people to adopt, while I was gone."

Elayne snorted loudly, "No, I adopted these guys ages ago." She motioned to the blonde, "You might remember him, Nakahara-san and Date-sama were best friends after all."

Lindsay thought about it for a minute, "Oh Sage, of course, how silly of me. I'm sorry."

"That's all right," Sage vaguely remembered Lindsay and what he did remember of her, he didn't necessarily like.

Elayne looked to the Torrent Ronin and spoke, "You've seen Cye before too. What was it…"

"Oh that party Nakahara-san threw about six or so years ago," Lindsay finished, and asked, "How is your mother doing?"

"Very well, thank you," Cye answered politely, idly wondering how Elayne could be this civil to her cousin considering how much she said she hated her.

"Oh good, I'm glad to hear it," She flashed a smile, "But I don't think I know the rest of you."

Elayne shook her head, "No, you've heard me mention them. And, you know of Rowen at least," She pointed to Strata's bearer, "His father is Genichirou."

Lindsay's eyes lit up, "Ah Hashiba-san! Nakahara-san was a big fan of his projects. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise miss," Rowen offered a small grin in response. Her silver-eyes were really starting to bother him; there was no way that was a natural eye-color. Then again, most people didn't think his blue-hair was natural either.

'_If she mentions old man Daiki one more time I'm going to strangle her,' _Elayne inwardly scowled.

"Rei Faun Kento," Hardrock's bearer spoke up this time around, saving Elayne from having to introduce him again.

"Oh your family owns that restaurant in Yokohama! I've been there a couple of times," Lindsay turned her attention to Ryo, a frown on her face, "Wait! Your Sanada-san's son, Ryo."

"Ya," Ryo blinked, he didn't know Lindsay at all only what he had heard about her from Elayne. So how did she know him?

"Oh you look so surprised! See, An-chan," Lindsay tried not to smirk in satisfaction as her cousin glowered at her, "Has pictures of when you two were little all over the place. You really don't look all that much different." She quickly added in her head, _'Though you're an awful lot more handsome, now. Honestly, these guys are definitely good eye-candy.'_

_'I heard that,'_ Elayne intruded into her cousin's thoughts, _'If you so much as think about laying a paw on any of them, I'm telling your current boyfriend just how many times you've dated. Cause I so know you lied to him.'_

_'Okay, okay I won't bother your precious oniichans,' _Lindsay grumbled back.

_'Good,'_ Elayne was somewhat content, though that was not going to stop Lindsay from ogling over the five Ronins all night…Oh well; they'd just have to deal with that. But hey, if they handled an evil emperor and his entire dynasty, they ought to be able to handle her cousin. Well…She could _hope _that they'd be able to deal with Lindsay.

Before an awkward silence could come about, Hotaru came up, and cleared her throat, "Sorry to interrupt, but Trista wants you Lindsay."

"Oh you'll have to excuse me guys, nice meeting you," She quickly walked away, not even bothering to say goodbye to Elayne.

Elayne didn't seem to care; she quickly enveloped her friend in a hug, "Thank-you for saving us! I owe you one Hotaru!"

_'Yes, saved from the slutty cousin who starts every sentence with 'OH! And that fake smile of hers…' _That remark was just enough to cause Elayne's mind to go off on a full tirade about the vileness of her cousin.

Hotaru let out a small laugh, "Not a problem, you know that." She studied the five young men for a moment, a thoughtful frown enveloping her features. She knew them from somewhere, their presences felt familiar and she could sense…Something was different about them, though she didn't know what.

Sage was trying to focus more on the drink in his hand, trying being the keyword. First Lindsay with her strange aura, and now this girl, Hotaru…He too was frowning, because for some odd reason he felt like he knew her once.

"Hotaru meet the guys, guys meet Hotaru," the girl snapped out of her mental rant. Obviously she was already getting tired of saying the Ronins names, and she wasn't even done introducing them to people yet! She still had to find the Inner Senshi; boy it really was turning out to be an awful long night.

Kento let out a chuckle, prepared to do the introductions all over again…

"Ah that's okay, I caught your names on the way over here," Hotaru smiled, and then grimaced, "And if not, I'm sure Lindsay will be babbling on about you _**all night**_, so I'll be sure to get them straight later"

The teen waved and then skipped back off to the table, task complete.

Elayne couldn't help it she started to laugh; the look on the Ronins faces was _priceless_.

"Shut-up, An," Rowen grumbled in complaint, quickly gulping down his drink and ordering another.

Elayne ignored this and said to Sage, "Told you my cousin was a nightmare."

"I remember her being different, but not that bad," he admitted, before letting his eyes wander the room. He felt like they were being watched again…Sure, he was used to going out and having girls stare at him, but this wasn't the same thing.

It was almost as though someone was trying to scan him to see if he were normal or not, and whoever it was had a presence of fire, like Ryo's though it was more muted.

"What's the matter Sage?" Cye asked in concern, tilting his head to study his friend.

Sage swallowed what he had in his mouth, and responded quietly, "Someone's watching us, but can you feel that?"

"The heat?" Cye responded voice low as well, "I thought I was imagining it, but if you feel it, then I'm not dreaming it up."

"No you're not, and it's not just heat, its fire," the Halo Ronin commented, looking around the room, locking eyes with the person finally.

* * *

Rei swore under her breath and quickly diverted her gaze back to those around her; well her hunch was correct…That young man was certainly anything but normal. Granted, the Mogami girl did have a tendency to hang out with 'unique' people, the Scouts were proof enough of that. Most of Elayne's friends outside of the Senshi were psychics or seers, as well as those with a genuine belief in the paranormal and supernatural. 

It tended to be easier for the girl to hang out with people that had talents similar to hers, the ones normal people would call bizarre or generally peg as fakes.

But what bothered the miko was the fact that this young man wasn't just a little bit different. When she studied him, she could feel hidden strength and power, and for some odd reason she got the feeling said power was light and spirit based.

The other four were similar to the blonde but each had a different degree of strength, and the energy they gave off was rather diverse. The red-head made her feel as though she were submerged in water, the one with blue-hair was linked with the air; the ash-haired was earth…

And the young man with the raven-hair, who was currently talking with Elayne was definitely fire…And what concerned her was the fact the presence of the elements was very strong.

Ami approached with refills for those who had asked, and inquired, "What's wrong, Rei?"

"Thanks," she took her refill, answering with a frown, "Those guys with Elayne."

"Ya so not fair she knows them," Mina said with a pout, "They're absolutely drop-dead gorgeous."

"Agreed," Lita acknowledged, sighing out something about one of them looking like her old-boyfriend.

"That's not what I meant," Rei scowled, she couldn't disagree and say they weren't good-looking, because they were _fine_, "There's something different about them, I'm sensing different kind of energies, the type only we're supposed to have. And, it's a lot stronger than ours."

Serena was leaning against Darien, Rini safe and probably sound asleep at the Tsukino residence, she spoke quietly, "I get the feeling I know them. Not from pictures or word of mouth, like I actually know them from somewhere."

"You don't think they could be from our time, do you?" Lita asked in a low voice.

"Why didn't Luna or Artemis tell us about them then?" Rei just couldn't figure it out, "Unless they just didn't know. In that case why hasn't Serenity-sama told Elayne to tell us?"

"Good point," Darien acknowledged, he felt he knew the young men from a past lifetime…It couldn't have been any other.

"If they are allies, she would've warned us a long time ago," Mina stated, and then let out a small laugh, "But then again, Serenity-sama does things by her own rules."

"I would like names to go with the faces," Rei grumbled out.

"The one with blue-hair is Hashiba Rowen, the man next to him is Rei Faun Kento, the one bickering with Elayne is Sanada Ryo, and the red-head is Mouri Cye. I didn't catch the other one's name," Ami supplied upon the girl's request…This caused her friends to stare at her in amazement.

Ami didn't look ashamed that she knew the information, "What? I went up there to get the refills remember? I over-heard them talking and caught their names."

"The blonde Rei decided to lock-eyes with is Date Sage," Elayne broke-in from behind the Senshi of Mars.

"Eep!" Rei yelped in surprise, before calming herself, "Don't do that An!"

The girl merely sniggered in response to that, offering a grin to the others around the table.

"Elayne," Serena began quietly, before Rei could jump the gun, "Are they more of your 'unique' friends?"

She nodded, "Ya, Sage and Cye are empathetic…Sage more so than Cye, he's had the ability longer and knows how to use it better. The other three also have their own special niches. Why?"

"I sensed power coming from them, and a lot of it," Rei narrowed her eyes at the girl.

"Really?" Elayne decided to play dumb, because she could be a pretty good actress when she wanted to be, "Are you sure you haven't had a few too many Rei? Cause I've been told alcohol does fuzz up any extra sense a person has. And technically, you guys are underage."

Rei shook her head amused, "You've got a point. I probably have had a little too much."

"Sh!" Lita clamped a hand over Elayne's mouth, "Someone will hear you!"

The girl got out of the hold and scoffed, "Please, you know they don't proof here. The owner doesn't care so long as you don't drink and drive. I'm not going to rat you out, and the others haven't. I wouldn't be so worried."

"Others?" Serena blinked at the girl in confusion.

"The Outers are here," the girl frowned, having thought the Inner Senshi would've picked up on that.

"I sensed them but I didn't see them any place," Rei admitted to the looks she was getting.

"You all had no problem seeing my oniichans," Elayne pointed out with a smirk, "But then again, they are guys, and you girls have this habit of window shopping."

"AN!" The group of girls chorused in embarrassment.

Darien just shook his head, wondering how he got himself stuck in this mess in the first place. Oh yeah, that's right, he recalled now, never mind.

* * *

"We're on stage in two minutes," Kirstin announced, snapping her leather wrist-band on. 

Aurora sighed through her nose, not really that concerned about performing, she was more concerned about the young men Elayne had introduced to them…They felt familiar in a sense, and she could also tell they were 'unique.'

Callista finished messing with her hair (it had the tendency to be impossible) turned her attention to Vanessa, inquiring of their group empath, "Well?"

Vanessa finished putting her aquamarine choker on, "They're different all right. But what really bothers me, is they have elemental based power, and a lot of it."

"What!" the other three collectively shouted in shock.

"Not so loud," Vanessa hushed them, "I'm dead serious, and I know my reading isn't wrong. Because the other Senshi are coming across at the same level they always are."

"They're all here tonight?" Callista asked with a frown.

The red-head nodded, "Ya all of them."

"Mmm," Aurora murmured thoughtfully, "We were warned that something was coming and to be on guard. So if all the Senshi are here, whatever is coming isn't that far away."

"Agreed," Kirstin tightened her pony-tail holder, "Especially since there have been more Raikken about."

"But, I'm concerned about these guys," Aurora was scowling, "They have our elemental based power, and it's stronger than ours? That's not good, why hasn't…"

A knock and gruff, 'you're on' interrupted her and she sighed grumbling out instead, "Queen Serenity's personal bodyguards reduced to this, ugh."

* * *

"This place isn't all that shabby," Rowen commented, downing his third and final drink for the evening. 

The Ronin leader gave a nod, though his mind was on other things at this point in time.

Cye noticed and clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Don't worry Ryo, we'll get started tomorrow. We can't do much right now, we're all tired."

"I know," he offered a smile, though it didn't reach his eyes, as he quickly took a look around the room, "Where'd Elayne go?"

"She's talking to those girls," Sage said with a nod in the Inner Senshi's direction.

Ryo quickly picked up on the tone of Sage's voice, quick to inquire, "What's wrong?"

"There's something different about all of them, and for some odd reason they seem familiar to me," the swordsman of Halo was frowning, and then he raised both eyebrows seeing that Elayne was looking at him.

Rowen let out a low groan, "She's motioning us over there."

"Elayne," Mina shrieked out, "Don't call them over here!"

"You all are such wimps, would you relax? They don't bite, the only one they snap at is me after I've pressed a few too many buttons," the girl commented, settling to glower at the five young men when they seemed to blanch at her request.

Sage let out a reluctant sigh, and walked over, "Good evening ladies. Something you wanted An?"

The other four Ronin were quick to follow their blonde headed friend, with all he had said they thought it best not to leave him alone. They were in a public place, but you could never be too careful.

"Well, I figured you all could ogle at one another up close instead of doing it half-way across the room." She smirked at the response shot got, a mixture of shrieks, dirty looks, embarrassment, and one or two comments about how she was going to be dead later.

Not like it bothered her much, if they all knew why she was doing this in the first place, she would've been dead anyway.

* * *

"Darien," the prince of Earth was quick to introduce himself, before an awkward silence could settle in. 

"You already have their names, but from left to right," Elayne said in a bored tone, "Ryo, Cye, Sage, Kento and Rowen."

The five young men gave the girl a strange look, but if she caught it, she really didn't let it show.

"I'm Tsukino Serena," the blonde girl on Darien's arm then motioned to her friends, saying their names in turn, "Aino Minako, Kino Lita, Mizuno Ami, and Hino Rei."

"And you already met "the thing", and Tomoe Hotaru," Elayne commented, pointing to the people standing right behind the Inner Senshi, "But the blonde is Ten'ou Amara, she's Kaiou Michelle, and that's Meio Trista."

"Minna!" Serena swerved her head to look at the Outer Senshi, "We've been wondering where you were."

Amara offered a slight pout, "Aw An, you ruined the whole point in us sneaking up behind them."

"Oops?" Elayne offered with a slight shrug of her shoulders not really caring that she'd spoiled the woman's fun. Silence was unable to take hold of the table, as both Inner and Outer Senshi talked amongst themselves…The more out-going ones of each group making an attempt to talk to the Ronins, Lindsay for once was silent her cousin's earlier warning fresh in her mind.

Ryo shifted nervously, he wasn't good in large social gatherings and right now he was starting to feel claustrophobic. Elayne must've noticed for she took a glance at her watch and then latched onto his arm, "Come on."

Aurora and the others had yet to come out, and the single artist that had been playing before had already left the stage. So, she needed to go and get them moving before the manager came out and asked her to do so…Forcing Ryo to go along with her, gave him the chance to get some air.

A few eyebrows were raised in her direction, and she flashed a grin, "The girls are taking too long. I have to bait them with _something_. I'll be back; play nice boys and girls just try not to party too hard, kay?"

"Elayne!" it was a collective shout, and caused the other patrons in the lounge to pause and look in the direction the shouting had come from.

The girl pulled Ryo along with her, cheerfully quipping, "Yes, that's my name. Very good, I'm impressed you remembered it."

Sniggering from the bar and tables the closest to it, resounded throughout the room, as the regulars went back to what they'd been doing before her name had been shouted out.

* * *

Ryo blinked slowly coming out of his stupor, "You did that because?" 

"Cause most everyone here knows me or knows of me, so when a group of twenty people screech my name out like they want to murder me…Everyone stops what they're doing and looks to see what is going on, or what they missed."

"Oh, you wanted to steer the attention away from the others," the Wildfire Ronin easily translated, asking, "And what do you mean your going to use me as "bait"?"

She chuckled at him, having stopped tugging his arm to walk casually beside him, "It was an excuse. I remember you have issues with being around so many people you don't know, you were starting to freeze up. Plus, you and the others are the hottest guys here. Every female I know, especially Aurora-tachi, happen to be suckers when it comes to good looking men."

"You…" He paled considerably, "You're not seriously going to use me as bait?"

Elayne burst out laughing, "Ryo! It was a joke, okay? It got you away from them, didn't it? Calm down, you're getting to be as paranoid as Sage when it comes to women."

Ryo gave a snort, "No one is _**that **_paranoid."

* * *

_1 Minna everyone_

_2. -tachi is a suffix used to denote people with a person; in this case it means Aurora and everyone with her_

_A/N: I am not advocating underage drinking in any country, at any time, or any place. Just want to make that clear; legal-drinking age in Japan is 20. With punishment for underage drinking, but as many as 70 of high-school students reported they had some experience with alcohol (the survey I found had been done on a national scale). I'm lumping the Senshi into that 70 category, because they fight demons and are rather entitled to kick-back. And hey look! I updated._


	12. Chapter 11: The Day After

**Chapter Eleven: **

**Rewritten 8/12/05 **

"**The Day After"**

**Shinwako Estate; Tokyo Outskirts **

The Ronin of Torrent awoke with a barely audible groan, as he warily sat up in the bed. His sea-green eyes flickered over the basically bare room, and it took him a few minutes to remember where he was.

"Oh that's right…We're in Tokyo," He quietly slipped out of the bed, aware that Kento and Rowen were in the room directly beside his. There wasn't any real reason for him to be so quiet for those two; it'd take a freight train to wake his best friend up and a tsunami to cause Rowen to even minimally stir.

However, he was trying to be mindful of Ryo and Sage who he was sharing this room with. Not that Ryo was a light sleeper, but Sage tended to be easily awoken.

It might have been surprising to fit three of them in a room this size, but with no furniture other then the beds it wasn't that much of a tight fit at all.

Cye grabbed the clothes he had gotten from his apartment yesterday (having asked Elayne to make a stop there before they went over to the lounge), and hurried to the bathroom before anyone else stirred.

Some odd minutes later, the Ronin of Torrent let out a yawn as he walked to the kitchen, pausing slightly upon seeing someone already there.

Elayne heard someone come up behind her, "Morning, Cye."

The Water Ronin smiled, he was used to her identifying a person without having to turn around. He had never been able to understand how she could do it before, but when he found out that the girl knew Sage, everything seemingly fit into place.

The Warrior of Halo was a very observant person, and it didn't seem that far of a stretch to assume that Elayne would pick up a few of his habits.

"Hullo, Layne. What are you doing?"

"Figured I'd let you sleep in, we didn't get back here till after midnight," the girl replied, lowering the front burner on the stove, "Plus, you guys kinda over did it on the drinks."

He chuckled, "Explains why my head hurts. I guess we actually enjoyed ourselves then," Torrent's bearer paused, "Your friends are quite an entertaining bunch."

Elayne quirked an eyebrow at him, "Which ones? I must've introduced you guys to like forty people last night."

He gave a shake of his auburn-head, a smile on his face, "The Americans you more or less abducted."

She had to laugh, "Yeah, I kinda did abduct them, didn't I? The reason they hold conversations on stage, in-between the songs, is to make the audience feel more at home. Works doesn't it?"

"Ya it does," Cye began helping the girl with breakfast, and slowly took over as not to direct her attention to what he was doing, "When did you meet those other people?"

"Well, I started hanging out with Rei, and then her friends, after I came back from America. Her grandfather owns the Hikawa Shrine here in Tokyo, and he was a close personal friend of my legal guardian," Elayne murmured. "After Nakahara-san died, I kind of inherited all the old contacts if I didn't already know them."

"And those women your cousin hangs out with?" The Ronin of Trust pried a bit further, having thought it odd how everyone seemed to know everyone else. Not only that, but what he and Sage both sensed also worried him a bit. If Elayne knew anything was different about the women she'd introduced them to last night, she certainly hadn't hinted at knowing about it.

A frown formed on her face, as she pondered it over briefly, "Not that long ago. Fact is we really don't get along all that much. Hotaru likes me well enough, and Trista doesn't seem to mind me either. Everyone else has issues with me because they spent their time listening to Lindsay. She does it all the time, turns people against me. She always says the same thing over and over, I'm the spoiled rich brat and I don't care about anyone but me."

Elayne snorted back a laugh of disgust, "For the world's information I can't touch my parent's inheritance till I turn twenty-one. Lindsay's had access to hers since she was eighteen. The woman hasn't worked a day in her life, and I bust my back, yet I'm the spoiled-rich one."

"Hold on," Cye murmured a thought striking him, "How do you pay for the Board of Trustees that manage the Estate?"

"It comes out of my salary; I actually work for a living ya know," Elayne suddenly smacked his hand away, "Mouri, you can at least let me handle the bacon. Since you decided to take over everything else."

The Ronin of Trust grinned, "You really haven't changed Layne, you still notice when I pull that."

"Because you always do it!" She managed to ruffle his hair with a free hand.

"Cut it out, go mess up Sage's hair." Cye growled playfully, pushing her hand away as though it were a pesky bug.

"I heard my name," the Halo Ronin sauntered into the room, and sat down, regarding the two with an amused smile.

The girl rolled her eyes, "You always show up when you're not wanted, why is that?"

"Because I love annoying you," the swordsman told her smugly.

"I know," the girl quickly returned, as she rotated the bacon again and then turned the heat off, "You've got it down to an art form now."

Before the Ronin of Halo could make a witty comeback, Cye quickly announced, "I'm done with the waffles."

He then proceeded to shake his auburn head in mirth, leave it to her to bring out the 'brother' side of the normally emotionless Sage. Not that it was a bad thing; Cye had never seen the swordsman behave like this with anyone besides his youngest sister Satsuki. So, to see Sage act this way with someone else was amusing.

"Kay. I'll wake them up."

* * *

Sea-green eyes met violet in shock, and both men began to make ready a protest that the girl should take extreme caution…Only to be drowned out by her shouting, "You three better get your hides out of bed, _NOW_. Or, no breakfast." 

Kento and Ryo grudgingly came out of their rooms; both were dressed, but still sleepy. Neither looked happy about being forced to come out of their rooms either, but it was hard to tell as they sat down without so much as a grunt in acknowledgement.

She watched this trying not to snigger, quickly inquiring of Sage, "Wow, you guys really are morning people, huh?"

"I guess so," the blonde swordsman had to suppress a smile; he and Cye didn't have to warn her after all.

She raised her voice several octaves, causing each man to visibly wince, "_**Hashiba Rowen!**_You _better_ get up!"

In the span of a few short seconds, what could only be discerned as a blue blur sat at the table, a prominent smirk on his face.

The other four Ronins could only stare at him, and then at one another in disbelief. Not only was Rowen wide awake, but he was also dressed.

The Strata Ronin suffered from low-blood pressure and he also had the habit of staying up late, both things made it near impossible to get him to rouse in the morning. Something his four brothers-in-arms knew all too well, so to see him alert and prepared for the day was beyond astounding.

Rowen's grin widened, as he cheerfully declared, "Good morning everyone."

Elayne seemed oblivious to the deafening silence, and looks of pure astonishment the archer was getting, "If only you got up that fast every day, I wouldn't have to dunk your head in the sink."

The blue-haired man lightly laughed, "No, you wouldn't."

The Hardrock Ronin was the first to recover from the jolt, "Too bad you weren't around seven years ago Elayne; I've never seen anyone get him up that fast!"

The Ronin of Strata shot Kento a nasty look before starting in on his breakfast, refraining from answering with a smart comment.

The girl merely shook her head at them, and walked out on to the balcony. Though their fights may have changed them, they were still the same oniichans she had grown up with, and of that she was ever thankful.

"Aren't you going to join us?" Kento loudly inquired between bites of food.

"I ate a while ago," She quietly answered, narrowing her eyes to focus on the grounds below her. Her eyes roamed over the scenery, landing on the dense thicket of forest behind the stables.

Something was out there, something lay beyond the original mansion, but she wasn't sure what it could possibly be. Whatever it was bothered her senses, and there had to be a reason for it.

Maybe it was the fact that the evil presence still lingered after the Scouts fight last night, or maybe she was once more over-reacting. After all, she was more than used to the crystal causing her senses to go hay-wire.

The object seemed to act on its own whims and at other times on instinct. And she couldn't come up with an answer as to why it acted the way it did…At least; she hadn't come up with an answer _yet_.

Elayne was jerked from her thoughts abruptly, "Sage, how many times do I have to tell you NOT to sneak up on me?" She demanded whirling around to face the swordsman.

He gave a moment's pause, arching a golden-eyebrow at her, "How did you know?"

"You are too loud?" The girl offered with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Sage is the second stealthiest Ronin," The Strata Ronin commented with a pointed glare.

She brushed them off, "Anything I can do is this charm's fault, remember? It lets me pick up on things I shouldn't be able to. Anyway why I'm up here, do you mind if I leave you all to yourselves? I have a few errands to run."

"Go right ahead," Torrent's bearer quickly brought in, glaring at Ryo knowing that the Ronin leader had been prepared to make a smart comment.

"Thanks," The girl paused, "Hang on, I know! Let me see if I can get Aurora and the girls to show you around. I'll be right back."

Before any of them could put up a reasonable objection she had dashed from the apartment.

* * *

Elayne skipped down to the second floor landing, then across a few hallways, before stopping outside a door and calling curiously, "Oneesans?" 

"Come on in Layne," Callista answered, it sounded as though she was vainly trying to keep her calm.

The girl quickly slipped into the room, "I need a favor, if that's okay?"

"What?" Kirstin teased lightly, "Protecting you from psycho cousin last night wasn't enough?"

This was in reference to the fact that at one point during the night, Kirstin had to snap at Lindsay to politely hold her tongue, or leave the building before the woman escorted the Italian out herself.

Aurora shuddered, Lindsay was not her favorite person either; "I really wish she'd get rid of those silver-contacts. They bother me."

Vanessa drew her hair into a ponytail, "I prefer the contacts to her normal eye color. That gray, just doesn't look right."

"Still," Callista muttered, as she pulled on a pair of socks, "Lindsay could've chosen any color! She could've gone with amethyst like you did, Ness."

"And be similar to someone else? Have you lost your mind Callie?" Kirstin asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

Elayne rolled her hazel-violet eyes skyward and proceeded to let out a shrill whistle, quickly grabbing the four young women's attentions, "Can I continue please?"

"Sure," No sooner had the words left the platinum-blonde's mouth then the phone began to ring, "Oh I'll get it!"

She dashed from her spot on the floor over to the deck, snatching up the phone, "Hello?"

Her face brightened, as she then switched into English; "Brad, darling! How are you?"

"Who the heck is Brad?" Elayne asked completely stupefied, before tuning out the phone conversation.

Callista let out a bored yawn, "The guy she was dating before we left the States."

"Wait, you mean to tell me, she was dating Bradley, _the _Quarterback, Bradley?"

"Yup," Vanessa tried not to yawn, "I broke it off with Tony, knowing I'd never make it back to the States, but Miss Sunshine over there still thinks she and Brad have something. Good thing she dyed her hair blonde, that moronic boy was a cheat in ninth grade."

Elayne studied the three girls before her, eyes wide in shock, "You four were actually dating?"

"At eighteen we were more than old enough, and most of us started dating when we were fifteen," Callista calmly said, flipping through a magazine, "Not everyone is a recluse like you, Elayne."

The girl bristled at the comment knowing it was in reference to the fact she had never had a boyfriend, or someone even remotely interested in her, "Hmph. I'd rather be a ghost, than have guys throwing themselves at me. Especially the ones you all went to school with."

"Hey, I dodged those advances," The cerulean haired woman snapped in irritation.

The look on Elayne's face clearly signified that she wasn't convinced, "Sure you did."

Aurora hung up the phone and skipped back to her spot on the floor, a smile was plastered on her face, (she proceeded to go back to using Japanese) "Sorry about that. Brad wanted to call and tell me that he missed me."

Vanessa made a gagging noise, muttering under her breath, "Yeah right, sure he misses you. Stupid twit."

Elayne let out a groan and covered her face with her hands, why her? Couldn't someone else have been put through this kind of torture, instead of her?

"Imouto, what's the matter?" Callista asked in sudden alarm, having misinterpreted the issue.

"Could you please show my oniichans around?" The girl put her hands back in her lap, "I got a call from Mina, I guess they want to go over the information. They completely forgot to talk to me about it last night. Basically, I'm on the Senshi's _'to die' _list."

"Great," Kirstin huffed, "I'll take a wild guess; Serenity hasn't contacted you yet has she?"

"Not a word," Elayne muttered miserably, "Either she is blatantly ignoring me, or she can't hear me. I've been trying to reach her for the past five days with no luck. I'm dead, I know it."

"It'll work out. In any case, don't worry we'll take good care of your brothers," Vanessa said, trying to get the girl to stop worrying.

Elayne gave a wry smile, "With the information I have just recently gathered, that's _exactly_ what I'm afraid of."

There was silence for a few minutes, before the red-head's eyes widened in realization. She let out a gasp, "That's _not_ what I meant!"

Her friends were lost in hysteric laughter, only Callista managed to control herself enough to think up a comment. "Ness, you should have _staid _a blonde!"

"Shut-up brownie!" Vanessa hissed as she tossed a pillow in the woman's direction.

Kirstin caught it, and suppressed a sigh, "Knock it off you three, no more hair-dye related comments. No worries Layne, I'll keep an eye on everyone."

"Thanks Kirs!" The girl chirped, as she got to her feet and ducked out of the room, before higher rated comments were exchanged.

That was how the WannaBe's fights normally played out, they went from tossing around 'PG'-rated remarks to 'R'-rated, and if things hadn't ended after the 'R' category had been exhausted, they started in on 'X'-rated.

Elayne shook her head and moaned, _'Only I would get stuck with people like this.'_

* * *

_Oneesans: Older sisters - Don't forget, folks, I am inherently lazy and like taking short cuts. ;-)_

_A/N: Thank you for your patience, and reviews last chapter. For those who don't know, I relocated 540+ miles away, thus my updating this story kinda took the back burner for a bit. Hopefully I will be able to update more regularly. Book II is also coming along well now, so I am quite happy with that._

_I am also working on a story for NaNoWriMo and am half-way pleased with the progress there. Be on the lookout for another chapter real soon. If I don't update in...Mm, a week...Go ahead and PM me, sometimes I forget I have this up here and that I need to update it._


	13. Chapter 12: The First Meeting, Or is it?

**Chapter Twelve:**

"**The First Meeting…Or is it?"**

**Tokyo City **

After the tour of the Estate and the surrounding property, which had lasted a good two hours, the Ronins had managed to excuse themselves from the WannaBe's presence. They had explained they wanted to do a bit of sight-seeing as it had been quite sometime since they had last been in the Tokyo area.

At the end of the previous semester, Rowen had moved back into the apartment with his father in Osaku Fu, prior to that he had been living on-campus at Tokyo University; so that left Cye as the only person living in the Tokyo area. This made the Ronins 'cover-story' to the women as close to the actual truth as possible.

The real reason they were now scouring the city was to see if they could find where the negative energy was coming from, but the further along they walked, the less they could feel the energy.

Silence had reigned throughout most of their stroll, though every now and then they would exchange remarks on education, running the family businesses for those that had to, and a few comments about their planned future. Though, it seemed apparent that all thoughts of a normal future would once more have to be put on hold for them, especially with the appearance of the Raikken.

"I wonder how Elayne managed to con her friends into showing us around," the Hardrock Ronin mused aloud. "I'm sure they had better things to do with their time."

"They were probably just trying to be nice," Cye piped in.

The Warrior of Wisdom muttered something under his breath, and Rowen burst out laughing.

The blue-haired archer shook his head, "I doubt it Sage. At least, they didn't seem anywhere near as bad as that 'Lindsay' character."

Each young man now visibly shuddered, having felt the woman's scrutinizing gaze on them often throughout the prior night, it certainly hadn't helped that she wore silver-contacts either.

Quickly changing the topic to that of a more comfortable one, Ryo referred back to the day's earlier events, "That Vanessa looked ready to kill the blonde for making so many comments about 'Brad.'"

"What kind of name is that for a person anyway?" Sage queried clear out of the blue.

"Oh, as if Seiji is any better?" The Strata Ronin jeered his best friend, with a gloating grin.

The Ronins of Water and Earth quickly moved to deflate Rowen, by demanding, "And Touma isn't?"

The Ronin leader could do nothing more than inwardly groan at them; sometimes, it felt to him that the Ronins and he were all still fourteen, and that things were just as hopeless as they had been back then.

He turned vivid-blue eyes off of his friends and to the walk ahead of him; his thoughts had been like this for the past few months. At times he couldn't remember what the point in living was, he was an adult now, but sometimes he felt worthless and as helpless as he had been as a teenager.

Out of all the others, he was the only one not doing anything with his life, he appeared to be stuck on the past, or on a future that may not even happen. But now, it was painfully clear to him that the future he had at one time seen was going to happen after all.

* * *

All of a sudden the Wildfire Ronin came to a halt, feeling a familiar warmth. Without much thought, he reached into the breast pocket of his denim shirt, and withdrew his armor orb. 

A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth as he studied it closely, noting that it was glowing. But, what was it glowing in response to?

The Ronin of Halo was the first to notice why Ryo had stopped, and on a hunch he produced his own crystal noting that it was also shimmering.

Silence captivated them, before Kento spoke, "Is it just me, or did it go deathly quiet? As in, the buzz of the normal city life just stopped?"

The Water Ronin scanned the streets, "It isn't just you, because it has."

"Those clouds are rolling in," Rowen noted with a certain amount of anxiety in his voice, "Just like last night."

Ryo closed his eyes and listened trying to see if he could hear anything out of the ordinary, he couldn't sense anything but the enemy might have the ability to mask their powers. There was really no telling what these demons were truly capable of, seeing as how last night was nothing more than a test.

"Silence Glaive Strike!"

The five young men exchanged slightly nervous glances then knew they had all heard the same thing.

"Well, all those in favor of meeting the Sailor Scouts," Torrent's bearer cheerfully announced, "Put on your armor."

"Ha ha Cye," Rowen muttered with a roll of his eyes.

Ryo cleared his throat, "He has a point. If we don't fully armor up, anyone would be able to see our faces. I, for one, would like to remain anonymous."

"Yeah. Let's just hope they'll still respond to us, it's been a while," the Hardrock Ronin grumbled.

"If the undergear responded," Halo's bearer spoke, "Then the armors should as well."

"Right," the Ronin leader then called out, "Ronin Warriors to arms!"

* * *

The streets were deserted of people, and the foreboding greenish-gray clouds hung thick in the air, it seemed as though time itself had come to a complete halt. 

Though the city now seemed to devoid of human life, the presence of the Raikken more than made up for it; they and the ten female warriors were engaged in serious combat and perhaps the only beings around.

The Sailor Scouts had been going over all the data and information they had learned within the past twenty-four hours, when Elayne had showed up, more things were cleared up. Such as the fact that one of the spirits who had been in contact with her was in all actuality Queen Serenity, and not a lower-level spirit; the girl had also expressed worry because she had not been able to get in touch with anyone on the 'other side' (as she had termed it).

Once this was out in the open, the Inner Scouts then demanded that the Outer come clean and explain why they had been keeping the Raikken away from the city without asking for assistance. Needless to say, everyone was quite bewildered when the truth came out; the Outer Senshi had been on-call elsewhere for months, and it was physically impossible for them to be handling Raikken in Japan. They had nothing to do with the enemy leaving the Inner alone, and it left one very big question in each woman's mind; who was?

But before they could even begin to try and analyze the possibilities, it had happened, they had once more felt that unnerving presence that came when the Raikken were near by.

Without so much as a word between them, they had transformed and run off to the city, leaving Elayne behind to make excuses to Grandfather Hino for their absences.

Now, they were fighting and as the hour wore on it was becoming harder and harder to battle with the creatures. The Scouts were starting to wear out, and just when the young women had made a dent in the Raikken, the buildings became lined with rows of archers.

Sailor Moon tripped at the worst possible moment, and evaded a skewering only due to the quick actions of Tuxedo Mask, who took the moment to finally appear.

"It's about time!" The Moon Princess grumbled in annoyance.

"This is what I get for saving your life?" The caped man chuckled, raising an eyebrow at her.

Sailor Moon stood up without his help, and gave a sniff, but before she could start she got cut off.

"Oh save it, cry baby. You can argue with your boyfriend, later," Mini Moon rolled her eyes having shown up with the young man.

* * *

"Oh man, there are even more now," Jupiter had a scowl on her face; it was hard to see through the lines of soldiers. The only blessing was that Sailor Pluto had managed to divert innocent people away from the area due to the thick fog that now covered the battle and its surroundings. 

"Jupiter, behind you!" Sailor Saturn shrieked.

The Scout quickly whirled around, and then shut her eyes prepared for the blow she knew was coming…Only to have it bounce off the being now in front of her.

There was a grim, yet determined look on his face though it was hard to see through the thick-metal plate covering it. The armor he wore was silver and dark blue, and he held a collapsible bow in his hand.

The Raikken paused eyeing the newcomer with interest, not sure who or what it was until the person called out in a strong voice, "Arrow Shockwave!"

Next to appear on the scene was a silver and green armored no-datchi bearer, "Thunderbolt Cut!" He gave a polite nod of acknowledgement to Sailor Mercury and Sailor Neptune, and then without warning threw himself into the fight.

"Superwave Smasher!" The light blue-armored figure held a yari in his hand; his eyes darted around the battle field, as he recognized the female warriors as being the girls from the night before. _'Well that explains the oddities in their auras. Fitting that Elayne knows them too.'_

"Umm, okay, who are they?" Venus whispered to Uranus, an eyebrow raised and pure confusion present on her face. The older girl merely shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Iron-rock Crusher!" The orange-armored one, spun what seemed to be an iron bo, with a naginata blade on the one end. Sailor Saturn watched in surprise, as he broke it apart into a three-jointed nunchuku.

The last attack came swiftly ending what was left of the Raikken soldiers, "Flare Up Now!"

This one was wearing red armor, and had double katanas as his weapon, "Perfect timing guys."

* * *

Now that the enemy had been deterred for the moment, an unsettling silence loomed over everyone; as they tried to figure out who was whom and on what side. But this silence only lasted for a few minutes, as the sound of feet pounding against the sidewalk drifted to their ears. 

Elayne drew herself to a halt, trying to quell her labored breathing having spent the last ten minutes in a dead sprint.

She had spent a good thirty minutes making excuses to Grandfather Hino as to where everyone had disappeared too. That was the last time she was going to allow the Senshi to run off and leave her with having to explain things.

When the girl briefly glanced up she was more than surprised to see the Ronins present, though relieved at the same time, "Oh good you guys made it after all. Was worried I'd have to go find you too."

She finally drew herself up, having managed to regain her breath, "I miss anything?"

"No," Sailor Mars answered, and then demanded annoyed, "Who's going to make the introductions first?"

Elayne couldn't help but laugh, and then grinned, "We made these introductions last night. But just to humor you, Mars. Sailor Scouts meet the Ronin Warriors. Ronins meet the Scouts. That work for everyone?"

Ryo gave a roll of his eyes, and slightly nodded to his for friends; in an instant the face plates moved out of the way to reveal the young men underneath.

"Hm," The Strata Ronin eyed the young women curiously, "So you are the group from last night after all."

All he got in return was mute nodding, though the Sailor of Mercury managed to find her voice and inquire, "You would be…"

"Yeah," Kento quickly answered noting how she was having a hard time trying to get the sentence out.

Because she was close to him, Sage merely leaned down and whispered to Elayne, "You neglected to mention that your cousin was a Sailor Scout."

The girl scowled at him, saying tartly, "_You_ neglected to ask."

"Touché."

After the warriors were done glancing at one another, all eyes for some reason or another landed on the girl. The looks weren't exactly kind ones either.

"Oh no you all don't!" Elayne warned, "Do not even go there. Each of you told me, at one time or another, to keep your identities secret, remember? Therefore I wasn't going to say anything to anyone else, so stop looking at me like I was deliberately holding out on you."

Well, in a way she was holding out on them; she had known for weeks in advance that they all would have to meet…But, she had promised not to say anything and let the spirits do the talking. So either way, she still couldn't win.

The Senshi of Pluto shifted her weight from one foot to the other, needless to say the Guardian of Time wasn't fazed by the Ronins presence at all, "Here comes the second round."

* * *

The four soldiers surveyed the battle below them, with a slight interest. 

They wore outfits similar to that of the Sailor Scouts, their skirts and bows being somewhat longer.

The leader of the group appeared to be clad in a marbled green outfit. The skirt and bow were done this way, while the bodice was an off-white color. Her gloves only came to her wrists, and were trimmed in a solid jade color.

The closer one scrutinized this particular warrior, they caught tints of metallic gold streaked throughout her near-white mid-length hair, and piercing chrome tourmaline eyes bore down on the battle.

To her left, was a young lady wearing the same outfit, though it was in royal-blue instead, her deep-brown eyes regarded her leader carefully; "What do you think Sailor Nova?"

Wind suddenly whipped through her short ice-blue hair and metallic dark blue streaks, as she called a bit louder, "Nova?"

"I am not sure Sailor Empyrean," the woman spoke hesitantly; "I wish to wait a bit longer. We do not know what these new people are capable of."

The other Scout, clad in a sky-blue marbled outfit, had her arms crossed impatiently across her chest.

Her deep purple tanzanite eyes showed the fact that she was annoyed. To further prove this point, she gave an impatient toss of her light chestnut-red hair, which had metallic red highlights, "I think it's stupid to wait here and do nothing. Your over cautiousness is beginning to irritate me."

For this comment she received a darkened scowl from Sailor Empyrean, to which she merely glared right back. The two were as opposite as night and day most times, and constantly argued.

The last of the Scouts now spoke; her london-blue hair had traces of a light metallic blue in it. It stood sharply in contrast with her orange-marbled Sailor outfit, she put a reassuring hand on her friends soldier, "Calm down, Sailor Glacia, we will help if need be."

She also gave Empyrean a warning glare, not in the mood to deal with one of their bickering matches right now.

Glacia now regarded her iolite-eyed friend with a frown, "Sailor Aarde, if we continue to linger in the shadows like this, they will never know of us. And mistake us for the enemy, when we do show ourselves!"

Nova sighed, "I am only following Queen Serenity's orders. She said to help, if they showed signs of needing it. We must do as she asked of us. We are her guard after all."

Sailor Empyrean nodded, then said in an even voice, "They are doing alright for now."

"I still say waiting like this is pointless," Glacia muttered.

Knowing she could not change any of their minds she went back to watching the fight.

* * *

"Duck!" Sailor Neptune hollered to the Strata Ronin, "Neptune Deep Submerge!" 

The archer complied, and then remarked, "These things seem to be regenerating faster than we can take care of them."

"They aren't playing games this time, either," Torrent's bearer stated, swiping his yari through a handful of soldiers.

"You know what I don't understand," Sailor Galaxy called above the din, "Is why we haven't seen a henchman yet, or an end to this fighting. It doesn't make sense!"

"You're right," The Senshi of Jupiter commented, "Last night they didn't seem that concerned with us. Yet tonight…"

Uranus took the liberty to finish, "It's as though they were waiting for someone."

"Are you trying to imply, what I think you are?" The Hardrock Ronin asked, an eyebrow raised at the woman.

Sage cleared his throat, "It might be the right answer. Maybe they were waiting to get us all in one area before unleashing their full force on us."

"Somehow," the Fire Senshi slightly frowned, something gnawing at the back of her senses, "I get the feeling this isn't the full force at all."

"More testing with the intent to kill, then?" Strata's bearer commented lightly.

The Wildfire Ronin paused, _'He is being sarcastic, but who wants to bet that he's actually right about that?'_

Each warrior halted, and visibly tensed as the sky around them darkened and the Raikken seemed to pause, as something seeped out of the shadows.

"Great," The Ronin leader grumbled, eyeing the new opponent, "Now we've got a General to deal with."

"Very good observation Wildfire," It commented, standing taller and wearing heavier armor than the other Raikken, "You have made our jobs easier, indeed. By being in the same place we can take revenge for our Master all at once. I'm surprised you fools still live to defy him. No matter, we shall end this now."

* * *

Sailor Nova had her eyes closed deep in thought, as she reached out with her senses to try and see if she could contact Queen Serenity. 

Normally she could at least feel the woman's spirit, and then the queen would contact her, but this time the Scout was unable to sense anything.

'_I wonder if this is the problem our seer was having,' _a frown quickly crept across her face, _'This isn't good at all.'_

The Ice Senshi continued to watch her leader in annoyance; she was starting to get more agitated by the second.

She had never been one to sit and wait things out; just before the general appeared she came to a decision. "That's it, I'm going."

Aarde quickly managed to restrain the Scout, "Be patient, I don't like waiting either. Nova needs the go ahead before we can jump in there."

The Scout in question opened her eyes, worry present in her face, "I can't find her. But, let's go anyway!"

"About time," Glacia didn't require any further prodding as she quickly leapt from the edge of the building.

The Sailor of Earth was not far behind her, "Wait up!"

Sailor Empyrean let her liquid brown eyes linger on the sky before following her comrades, "Look out below!"

* * *

"What?" Rowen asked in confusion, tilting his head to study the new arrivals. 

The Hardrock Ronin gave a shake of his head, "Great, now it's raining Sailor Scouts."

Sailor Glacia offered him a smirk, "We normally come in buckets, count your blessings."

The Raikken General recognized the four women, and let out a low angry hiss, "You still live?"

"Yes," Nova spoke, eyes narrowed into a hateful stare, "Your attempts to help aide in Beryl's destruction of the Moon Kingdom went unnoticed, but not by Universe. She realized what was going on, and managed to get us away from there in time."

"Curse that impudent fool of a Scout," He grumbled, "Always interfering in affairs she shouldn't have. Well," It gave an evil slimy grin, asking loudly, "She can't do that anymore, now can she?"

"How dare you!"

"Glacia," the Sailor of Earth once more restrained her friend, "Don't be so irrational, use your head."

The slighter Senshi merely mumbled something under her breath, and stopped fidgeting.

Uranus eyed the four new warriors warily, "So then the rumors were true?"

"Unfortunately, they were," Empyrean answered, trying to figure out why the enemy had now stopped attacking, "By the time we made it to Io, Titan had been lain to ruin."

Saturn bit back a sigh, "Well so much for hoping that it was just a rumor. At least you four are still alive."

Aarde grinned, "And ready to lend a hand. So how about we send ugly over here packing?"

Neptune let out a small laugh, "Nice to see you all haven't changed."

The General gave them a bored yawn, "Are you going to continue to stand there and chitchat, or are we going to fight?"

He then made a summoning motion towards the shadows, and called in the Raikken that had been waiting to strike.

"Ever here of the saying, 'be careful what you wish for'?" Nova retorted. "Power of Light! Cosmic Starburst Attack!"

The area around her snapped alive with energy, which formed into shards of pure light, after growing around two inches in diameter, they shot forward into the incoming enemy.

"My turn!" Glacia cheerfully stated. "Power of Water, Artic Wave Freeze!"

The light surrounding her turned a pale-see-through blue, and once coming into contact with the Raikken caused them to become entrapped in the ice, which, once the target was completely frozen solid, broke into pieces.

"Power of Earth," Aarde normally had to concentrate the hardest, just because her power source wasn't always present, so she sometimes had to 'make' it become present.

"Solar Vine Strike!"

Vines shot up from the ground, laced with powerful light energy, once entangling the Raikken; they then exploded leaving nothing but the enemies' ashes behind.

She probably had the most obvious attack, but that bothered Empyrean relatively little. She never had needed to focus very hard, just because air was forever present no matter where on earth you went. "Power of the Sky. Cumulus Energy Detonation!"

This attack did exactly as it sounded like it would do; the wind picked up to something similar like hurricane-force and wrapped around the Raikken, once the enemy was hidden from view, the 'clouds' detonated.

Cye blinked a few times, murmuring mentally, _'Talk about your violent attacks.'_

'_Yeah,' _Rowen agreed, _'Remind me to never get on their bad side.'_

The Hardrock Ronin tried hard to keep his face neutral, but he grinned anyway, _'You sound a little worried there Rowen.'_

'_Guys can we please take out this General, and save the small talk for later?' _Wildfire's bearer demanded in annoyance.

In a matter of minutes, the remaining warriors called forth their attacks laying the rest of the enemy to waste, including the General; the Raikken's ashes were blown away by a light wind that also pushed the threatening clouds from the sky.

* * *

"So," Sailor Moon studied the newer Scouts curiously, "Who are you?" 

Nova cracked a grin, "The Sailors of the Elements, and Queen Serenity's personal body-guards. Rather, _were_ her personal body guards. I'd be the unfortunate leader of the group, Nova."

"And we never heard of you because?" Sailor Mars asked a scowl on her face.

The Sailor of the Air rolled her eyes, "You weren't supposed to. We worked behind the scenes. When we weren't protecting the Queen, we were on specially assigned missions that she gave to us. I'm Empyrean, by the way."

"I'm Glacia, that's Aarde," The red-head spoke up, "We know who everyone is, except you people. So, what do they call you?" She was eyeing the armored warriors curiously.

"They're the Ronin Warriors, Glacia," Mini Moon said, as she came skipping up to them.

Elayne and Tuxedo Mask also re-appeared at that moment, coming through a side-street, still very much arguing as they had been for the past five minutes.

"You're insane!" He cried in irritation, starting to run out of reasons to continue the discussion which he was sorely losing.

The girl rolled her eyes, "I've got more brains than you do caped wonder. I didn't get myself slammed into a building and cornered by three Raikken, did I?"

"Oh no," The young man scoffed at her, "But I didn't start insulting them, like you did."

"It got their attention didn't it? You're still alive aren't you?" He gave a nod, and she said airily, "Then stop whining like Sailor Moon. Just be glad I distracted them."

"I was doing fine!" Tuxedo Mask protested, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

Elayne burst out laughing, "Sure you were. Let's recount the odds shall we? Five against one, because you wouldn't let me help, or Mini Moon either for that matter."

"You're an innocent!"

"Innocent my estremità," She spat back, then realized she was starting to slip into Italian, and said a bit more calmly, "Come up with a better excuse, especially since I almost have more training in fighting than you do."

"Ya, and I'd love to know where you learned those kind of fighting skills. Especially after the way you took out that one Raikken," He said with a severe frown on his face.

"Them," she jerked her thumb in the general direction of the Ronin Warriors. She then paused, vaguely aware of the stares and blank looks the two of them were getting, noticing that something wasn't quite right with this picture.

She started to count on her fingers, looked up again, recounted, and then scratched her head, "Someone care to tell me when, and where we picked up another four people?"

Aarde grinned broadly and waved to the girl, "Us, and just recently."

"What!" Elayne cried in shock, slumping against the building she was standing in front of. She couldn't believe this; it had to be some sort of really bad joke. "But…But, Serenity said not to expect you for weeks, actually months!"

"Change in plans," Empyrean offered her with a shrug, "We didn't think we could wait that long."

The Halo Ronin was frowning at Elayne, quick to inquire, "Who's Serenity?"

Elayne seemed to pale a little and the crystal around her neck glowed for a brief moment. But before she could respond, a voice said from behind Sage, "I am."

* * *

_A/N: Look! It's been a week and I updated. XD_

_Well this chapter brings back some memories for me...I revised this one about two years ago; talk about time flying. Who would have thought it'd take me two years to revise, and I'd be posting it up now in 2007...Not me. And hehe, there is a reason it took me two years to edit Book 1. If you want to know why,you can ask in the review or PM me. If you ask in the review, I'll be posting it up in the next chapter's authors notes. Because I think I failed to mention exactly how long TGOL is._

_Hope ya'll had a great Thanksgiving! _


	14. Chapter 13: Explanations

**Chapter Thirteen: **

"**Explanations"**

* * *

Queen Serenity uncrossed her arms, "And I'm sure you know who this is," she made reference to the monk standing next to her. 

"Ancient One!" The Ronins cried in amazement, while the Elementals voiced their own surprise. "Kaosu!"

The nine of them simultaneously said, "Wait a minute," and then exchanged bewildered glances.

Elayne placed a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing; the dazed looks on their faces were beyond priceless.

The Ancient one cleared his throat, and spoke directly to the girl, "We thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Normally, we don't approve of using outsiders, but…"

She suddenly became very solemn, "You already explained, and I said I didn't have a problem with it. After all, if something concerns my family's safety I'm more than willing to help. Will you be needing me anymore?"

"No, but if something arises we will call on you," Queen Serenity then directed her attention back to the warriors, "If we could meet somewhere private, and talk? If any passersby were to see us, I don't think it'd go over very well."

"I could empathize with them, I don't believe I am seeing this either," Rowen muttered, massaging his eyebrows feeling a migraine starting to come on.

"We'll get back to you," Sailor Saturn offered a smile, and relaxed after the two vanished.

"So, now what?" Sailor Jupiter asked curiously.

"We power down, and find a place to crash, then contact the spirits," Uranus answered calmly.

Everyone nodded, quickly willing away their power for the time being, all except for the Sailor Elementals.

"Umm, are you four going to join us?" Lindsay inquired, arching an eyebrow at them.

"Not today, Linds," Sailor Nova then hit herself in the head. "Oops."

"You and your big mouth!" Glacia rolled her eyes at her leader.

"Oh knock it off," Empyrean muttered giving her a death-glare.

The Ice Senshi glowered, saying, "How about I knock you off, permanently?"

"Ladies, for one day could we not argue amongst ourselves?" Aarde asked, with a slight shake of her head doing her best to repress a groan.

"No!" The two spat in annoyance, startling the Sailors of Earth and Light and causing them to take a few paces back.

Sage gave a dry chuckle, "What were you expecting of them, Kirstin?"

The Scout turned her head with her mouth opened slightly, and blinked hard a couple of times, "What did you just call me?"

The Ronin of Halo had a smug grin of satisfaction on his face, "You heard me. Your mistake was in showing up, not in Aurora's little slip of the tongue."

Elayne added into the conversation, once again trying not to laugh, "Sage is a well-versed empath. You can change your appearance, but not your aura, nor your energy signature. He knew when you were up on the roof, who you were."

"Well, bravo Halo," Vanessa rolled her eyes, quickly having untransformed, "It would figure they'd have an empath, too."

"Hey! Hang on, how come you girls get to change in appearance when you transform? That's not fair," Mina whined, the injustice of it all!

Aurora offered a mere shrug of her shoulders, "You got me."

"Any ideas on where we go from here? I mean there isn't a place big enough to house all of us," Ami brought in quietly she was a little uncomfortable with all the people present…She had been all right last night, but right now? She would've given anything to be miles away.

"Actually," Kirstin grinned, "That's not quite true. Oh Layne?"

"No, absolutely not!" The girl immediately answered, quickly standing up straight. "Because then you'll all be over at the Estate until this mess is completely cleaned up. I'm already getting stares and glares from the Trustees for having the guys stay. No."

"Please?" Serena begged sweetly, Rini joined her in giving Elayne a 'puppy-dog' look.

She shook her head furiously, and shut her eyes, "Don't give me that look; I said no."

"What about the old mansion? That has more than enough rooms if we all need to stay put, and the Trustees can't complain about us making noise because we'd be out of line of sight and hearing."

"Callie not you too!" Elayne then let her shoulder's slump forward, "Fine, traitors. As long as everyone who will be missed can come up with good excuses as to why they'll be staying, _if_ it turns out that they_ have _too, I'll tell the Board off. Deal?"

"Thank you Layne," Vanessa gave the girl a hug. "You're the best little sister."

"Whatever."

* * *

An hour later the Ronin Warriors were lounging on the Shinwako mansion's porch. 

Aurora had explained that this had been the old Estate, which was scheduled for demolishing, but Elayne's grandmother couldn't bare the thought of having her home destroyed.

So, it had escaped unscathed, mainly forgotten since the family had neglected to mention it to Elayne's legal guardian. Even if they had, the girl had calmly pointed out having overheard the discussion, it's not like the senile old fool would have remembered.

Those had been her exact words, and it had been said in such a note of disgust that it genuinely surprised the Halo Ronin, the girl had never once talked ill about anyone…Then again, she very rarely talked about her legal guardian in general.

But from what he had heard the man had been much too protective, and way too over-bearing for the girl's liking, though he assumed it was probably an exaggeration.

The Warrior of Wisdom now held back a yawn, trying not to go further into boring family history details in his head, for some reason it always managed to wear him out.

He raised a golden eyebrow at the now approaching forms of the Inner Senshi, noting that the two young blondes, Serena and Mina the names came to him quickly, were lugging carriers with them.

"Mina, put me down!" Artemis yowled in annoyance, as the young girl pulled him out.

Rowen coughed violently, "I think I am hearing things."

"You aren't," Luna stated, jumping up on the porch having freed herself from the carrier Serena had placed her in, and vigorously began grooming her coat.

Kento rubbed his eyes, and blinked several times, "Talking cats? Did I die without realizing it?"

Elayne couldn't help herself, she quickly covered her face with her hands to hide the fact that she was laughing.

Cye took in the girl's reaction, "You were expecting this, ne?"

"Aw, Cye! I am entitled to some fun!" She beamed at them, purposely having left out mention of the guardian cats until now, "Gentlemen, Luna and Artemis. The only reason you can understand them is because you are pure of heart. If you weren't, you wouldn't be hearing them; they are using a form of thought-speak."

"Hey, what about me?" A little lilac kitten squeaked in a hurt tone.

Elayne picked up the little bundle, and cuddled her gently, "This, is my favorite, Diana."

"I thought I was your favorite?" Rini pouted playfully having quickly dashed ahead of the older girls.

"You are my favorite daughter," Elayne winked, ruffling the child's hair.

Rini giggled, and pushed her hand away, "Mom is still miffed that you 'adopted' me."

Rowen managed to speak, the shock of hearing animals talk, having now faded, "Who is your mom, exactly?"

It seemed that someone had gone through an extra length of trouble to make sure Serena did something klutzy at that moment; for as she was walking across the front lawn, she tripped, bumped into Rei and then fell flat on her face.

"_That_," said Rini with disdain pointing to the blonde, "Would be her."

Elayne chuckled at the look on the Ronins faces, while Luna quickly brought in, "Or, will be rather. Rini and Diana are not from this time, they're from thirtieth century Tokyo. Long story, perhaps one of the Elemental Scouts could tell you? They seem to be up-to-date with all the occurrences."

"No worries, Luna. I'll fill them in later," Callista announced coming out of the house, "We are only aware of everything because Queen Serenity has kept us informed of happenings throughout the years."

"I have a question," Amara said, clearing her throat, "According to the Inner Senshi, someone or something has been keeping the Raikken away. Was it you?"

Vanessa gave a slight inclination of her head, "We've been dealing with the Raikken for a while, and we thought they were just our problem, but it seems that isn't the case."

"Okay so everyone is here, then?" Rei was starting to get impatient, not like that was unusual.

"I'm working on it, but it's hard for me to concentrate when there are so many people present," Elayne cracked an eye open, "Orey, is Serenity even around here?"

The young woman had a thoughtful look on her face, as she concentrated to find the energy signature.

Aurora was the leader, and former head of the Queen's guard, and she had the ability to make contact with the Serenity's spirit as long as she was in Scout form.

Once outside of it she could only go so far as detecting the presence, but if something was blocking her it made the task impossible.

"I think so," She finally answered after several minutes pause.

"Okay then," Elayne murmured, closing both eyes once more and proceeding to give a sharp pull on the area around her.

Luckily the two spirits caught the signal, and then materialized; knowing full well that this matter was no concern of hers, the girl slipped into the house unnoticed.

* * *

"It is good to see that you have all made such good time," The Ancient told the warriors, adding, "Please hold your questions, for there is much to tell." 

Each warrior looked between one another, and then back to the spirits; giving a nod for acknowledgement.

"Near to three millennia ago, one of the greatest evils known to the realms walked free. He had turned his sights onto this galaxy, since it was rumored that it's powers were the greatest of all, and that an uprising here would ruin his plans for obtaining ultimate power. At that time, the planets were on a united front, and the kingdoms within earth were united as well."

"However," The Ancient picked up, "The evil lord, Akemliek(1), took this world on, regardless. At that time your ancestors were no older than you, but even with the powers united it was not enough to destroy him."

"We swore that our descendants would finish him, since we could not…" Serenity paused, seeing the glare she was getting from the Sailor of Air.

"'Descendents'? Queen Serenity, you are more or less Serena's mother. Do you mean to tell us, our real parents fought up against this Akemliek?" Callista had her arms crossed in front of her chest, digesting the information as quick as it was coming.

"Very good, Empyrean. Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. Now, now, save the worries and concern for later," She had caught the looks on the Ronins faces; "We couldn't defeat Akemliek, he was too strong, but we halted his advance long enough to give you time to train and work together as a team. He had allies, Talpa, Beryl, Nehelenia; any previous evil which you have encountered in this lifetime, is safe to say was his ally at one point in time. Now in the previous lifetimes, your exposure to them was rather limited…"

"We had appointed a guardian, a caretaker to watch over you, guide you, and keep you alive, she is the one who originally fought them. The Raikken had wiped out half of her family, including her own parents; before this there had been a rift in the family, over who were the true rulers." The Ancient did not sound happy as he continued,

"The remaining half wanted little to do with the girl, so I made arrangements for her to stay with Lady Kayura and her family. However, she was put into training under me at a young age, to act as double and body guard for the Princess of the Universe."

"Since she was already set to be the protector of one, we offered her the chance to be the protector of many. She displayed qualities that very few warriors possessed, she gave us reason to believe that if all else failed; she could handle the fate.

This was, if you were to fail, someone needed to be able to alter time and give you all a re-start. She accepted the task willingly for reasons all her own. In the end she proved she was the right choice."

Serenity looked away for a moment, and then back, "You can't be lied to you have lived before and it's more than just twice."

"As part of the process we asked for our memories to be hidden until it was the right time." The Ancient added.

"So, meaning you two didn't get your memories back, until we defeated our enemies in this life. Correct?" Rowen questioned, stroking his chin in thought.

The Ancient merely nodded in response.

"What else can you tell us?" Ami suddenly inquired noting that both had not made move to continue speaking.

"It was more or less Lady Universe's job to keep you out of trouble, and alive until your fight with Akemliek. She did so, but eventually Akemliek decided he needed to make a move of his own." Queen Serenity spoke softly, as she continued. "It was our foolishness that led to his victory, for she had voiced concern that she believed every one of you were not ready to face him. Only because the bonds between each of you, as groups, were so weak and knowing that Akemliek feeds off of disunion made her protest our decision more. While you all had final say in the matter, you agreed with us."

"We lost, but she was able to re-start this, and we went through the motions again. But, once more we failed because we weren't united enough. Am I right so far?" Ami asked, when she got a nod she continued on with her analysis, "You also mentioned us living more than twice. In-between these three lifetimes, we were not all together and were separated by time. In the end, the only reason all of us are here now, is because Talpa and Beryl both executed their plans in this lifetime so close together."

"That's right!" Michelle gasped, then related what she knew, "The information that was collected states that Talpa first appeared 1,000 years ago. The same time Beryl went after the Moon Kingdom! But in order for us to be here now, we would have had no choice but to lose the battle against her."

Queen Serenity sighed, "Most of you have special talents, Universe's ability was foresight she knew what was coming though on her part she did try to change it. Regardless, it proved useless. When Beryl launched her attack, the Raikken helped though everything that happened was blamed on the Negaverse. We stood little chance against two sides; after the battle, the Raikken by order of Thanos and Kali went into hiding, hoping that their Master's allies would destroy you. After your loss in the second lifetime, Lady Universe imprisoned Akemliek in hopes to buy you even more time than before."

"Because their Master's allies have ultimately failed, Kali and Thanos are now taking control of the matter themselves since the Raikken are undoubtedly restless and harder to control than before. We do not know when or how Akemliek will get free, the only one who can answer that question is Lady Universe." The Ancient One explained.

"And she's dead. Beryl killed her in that fight on Saturn…Her transformation stick was damaged from the previous fight, and Beryl took the cheapest shot possible…and the rest is history," Kirstin murmured.

"I know this is an awful lot to try and comprehend, but please understand the severity of this. The fate of the universe rests in your hands, if you fail then it is truly over, there will not be anymore chances. We will leave you with your thoughts," Serenity then faded from view.

Before he disappeared, the Ancient left them with this comment: "You must learn to trust each other and in yourselves. The only way to defeat this evil is by working as a unit, we will assist you when we can."

"Well…" Ryo started slowly, catching everyone's attention, "Looks like it's going to be a very long year."

Kento chuckled, and shook his head in mirth, "Dude, that's a _**huge**_ understatement."

* * *

_A/N: Well lookie that, I updated. I am very sorry for not updating sooner, but my life is hectic and I tend to forget I have this up here. If I go a month without updating feel free to PM me and ask for an update. TGOL Book One the revised edition was finished back in January 2007. So there's really no excuse for you not to get an update...I just get overwhelmed and forget the story is here. At this writing, Book 2 is half-way done and I'm very happy about that Maybe I'll be able to get it done before the end of this year, LOL! oh yes, and you're getting two updates since I took so long. Thanks to all those who have reviewed in the past. Enjoy the story!_

_1 Akemliek pronounced Ah-keym-lee-eck in the old world language it means "great evil"_


	15. Chapter 14: Interesting Revelations

**Chapter Fourteen: **

"**Interesting Revelations" **

**Shinwako Mansion; Next Day **

**

* * *

**"You're up awfully early, Rowen," Luna noted to the blue-haired young man, as he entered the kitchen. 

Rowen let out a chuckle, having gotten used to having a 'talking' feline around, "Ah, so you've heard I like to sleep in, hmm?"

"From more than one source, yes."

"I figured I'd better get up, knowing Ryo he'll want us up, and training pronto," He gave a roll of his midnight-blue eyes, but it was more in amusement than annoyance.

Luna studied him a few minutes more, before speaking again, "So he is your leader?"

"Well, ya I guess," the archer rummaged through the refrigerator looking for the bottled water he had stashed in there the night before, "It sorta 'fell' on him, he took the job, but we never asked him if he wanted it. And in a way, each of us fill in part of the leader role when we need to, but for the most part? Ryo's our rallying point. We were more worried about beating Talpa than having an 'official' leader. Sounds pretty dumb, huh?"

"Well, it couldn't have been that grave an error, you won," the cat pointed out, in-between grooming her coat, "And it doesn't sound dumb to me at all."

Rowen took a swig from the bottle which he had found, then inquired, "So, anyone else up yet?"

"The Outer Scouts, and…" Luna's ears twitched back and forth a few times, picking up the sound of someone approaching, "Your friend Cye."

Not even five minutes later Cye walked into the kitchen, a little surprised to see Rowen there, "Now this is different. How many times this week does it make, Ro?"

"Oh save it, Cye," The blue-haired archer shot to him, before exiting the kitchen with a huff.

Luna watched this little altercation with amusement; she already liked these young men very much. They were different and yet still close at the same time.

'_Now if only the Scouts would get along that well,' _She thought to herself, adding,_ 'I guess I better keep dreaming.'_

* * *

Vanessa regarded the Outer Senshi and their training session with a look of boredom on her face, "I wish the others would get up." 

She frowned, fighting was not something she avidly adored even though she typically tended to be more battle-ready than her friends, but she was a decent fighter. So, if there was going to be a fight, she wanted it over and done with.

"Itchin' for a fight, Ness?" Rowen asked of the red-head, coming out onto the porch.

She shot him a grin, "Maybe, what's it to you? Actually, I just wish they'd get up, so we could get on with and through our training session. Orey always makes them grueling hard."

"It's better to practice before fighting an enemy, cause you can be sure the fight will be twice as miserable as the training."

Here the Sailor of Water and Ice rolled her amethyst-eyes, "You and your logical thinking. You are almost as analytical as Callie."

"Judging by the way you said that, I take it you don't like Callie that much?" Rowen was referring to the gagging noise the woman had made.

"Callie's my sister! I just don't like it when she gets over-analytical, and starts sounding like a textbook. I know she doesn't mean to, but it makes me feel small; she doesn't do it as much as she used to, thankfully," She chuckled before continuing, "When the four of us first got together, she and I used to be at each others' throats, constantly. Kirstin and Aurora had to separate us quite often. Then we didn't talk at all, and finally we just started over from square one."

"Ah, well Cye and I were never argumentative, but we weren't exactly close friends, either. We got along well enough, but we had tendency to get on each others' nerves. Then, all of a sudden we were best buds, don't ask me how that one happened, it just did. I guess maybe it had something to do with Suzunagi; we were all at odds before she showed up, having drifted apart. After that, we were closer than when we were fighting Talpa. I wonder how things would have played out for this fight, if we didn't get that unity?"

"It probably would have been a lot harder. Not only would you have to adjust with dealing with so many girls, but you would have had the added stress of trying to reform a friendship," She wisely pointed out.

"Ya. You know I don't think Sage has ever been around this many girls before in his entire life," Rowen laughed trying to lighten the topic.

"Ahh," The woman gave a knowing nod, "He doesn't strike me as being 'girl-shy.' And yet he is?"

Rowen dried his eyes, with his thumb, "Not as bad as he was, Elayne and I kinda broke him of that. He still hates girls and woman falling for his looks though; he doesn't go for the simple minded types. Don't get me wrong, Sage is one smooth-flirter when he wants to be, but it's on very rare occasions."

"Oh, so you are to blame for that, hmm?" Vanessa found this discussion rather amusing.

"Not me solely, she helped! Used to set him up on blind dates; he never knew I had a hand in it though, he'd probably…" Rowen paused upon seeing the look on Vanessa's face; she was trying hard not to grin.

"Man, this is like a movie. He's right behind me, isn't he?"

She nodded and then burst into a fit of uproarious laughter.

Rowen turned around and grinned, "Morning Sage."

"You do realize that one of these days I will get you back for that?" Sage ignored Rowen's greeting, glaring at his friend with icy violet-eyes.

"Eh, so what?" The archer demanded bristling, "How come the little brat gets off, and I don't?"

"Because she thinks of better and worse ways to get back at a person, than you do," The Warrior of Wisdom bluntly stated, "Come on, we need to see if we can help Cye."

"Oh, does he think he can cook all of the food for an army this large by himself? Your friend is crazy," Vanessa then turned and shouted, "Hey Cye! I am helping you, whether you want the help or not. You stay out of my way, and I'll stay out of yours, deal?"

"Deal!" Torrent's bearer shouted out through the kitchen window.

Sage and Rowen watched as the woman quickly walked into the house, without so much as an afterthought.

"I agree with Ryo…" The swordsman muttered, slowly massaging the point in-between his eyebrows.

"It's going to be a long year?" The Ronin of Strata grinned, "Somehow, I have a feeling an 's' needs to be added onto that."

"So, what do you think of our new partners?" The Halo Ronin inquired, trying to make an attempt at conversation.

This surprised Rowen for the briefest of moments, though he did an amazing job at not letting it show, "It'll be interesting, to say the least. I think we have a lot to learn though, about one another and where we actually come from. The brief intro's last night were just the minimum basics; today we should try and go over more."

Sage gave a nod, "We should also try and find out more about this 'Akemliek' character, I get the distinct feeling the Ancient was refraining from saying anything he wanted to."

"Yeah and that Queen Serenity seemed to be skirting around certain aspects of the discussion," the Hardrock Ronin interjected into the conversation.

"Morning Kento," the swordsman said in acknowledgement.

The Strata Ronin gave a thoughtful frown, "What do ya mean?"

Kento shrugged his shoulders lightly, "Every time it looked like she was about to say something, her expression would change making it appear as though what she was currently saying wasn't what she originally thought about. Eh, maybe I was just imagining it."

"No," Hotaru brought in, the training session now over, "I saw it too. It was almost as though she were afraid to say what was really on her mind."

"I wonder what it was?" The Ronin of Halo murmured, more to himself than anyone else.

* * *

Breakfast was delicious, due in part to the fact that Cye, Lita, Aurora, and Vanessa cooked it. By the end of the meal, everyone had dubbed them the gourmet cooks and they came to the agreement that as far as cooking meals was concerned they would handle it. 

Clean up went quite fast, and everyone decided that they were going to have to set up a schedule of who would do what chore around the house, and then change it each week.

There was relatively little furnishing in the mansion ordinarily, but the Wannabes had acted quickly moving whatever furniture they had in storage into the home (things their families had sent over to them over the years), as well as what they had in the Estate.

Now, each warrior sat, either on one of the sofas, chairs, or the floor, prepared for more story-telling, if you could term it that.

Last night each group leader had given a brief introduction of themselves and their colleagues, who they had faced and why; basically a brief summary of what had happened in their lives over the past several years.

However, the Ronins had yet to go over everything, and the Elementals had made no move to explain their existence or why they had ended up in America.

Granted, things had been cut short the previous night; mainly due to the lateness of the hour, as well as the need for rest out-weighing the importance of talking.

"Who wants to go first?" Vanessa asked with a bored yawn, critically eyeing the Ronins.

Ryo received no indication from any of his friends on whether he should continue or not, and he bit back a sigh. The last few battles were personal, and retelling even a slight amount of them would be hard.

He swallowed, looking over to the platinum-blonde Aurora, and said calmly, "You go ahead. I'm trying to figure out what got left out and how to summarize it."

She gave a nod, a thoughtful frown on her face before she spoke, "Out of you all here, we're probably the only ones with no definite enemy. We've been fighting rogue Raikken for the past several years. What I mean by rogue is that they abandoned Kali and Thanos because they did not wish to wait any further. Each of us received our powers when we were around thirteen or so, in June I think it was."

Callista nodded seeing that her leader was looking for help and confirmation, "Kaosu appeared to us first, on Serenity's behalf since she was 'pre-occupied with other matters at the time.' He explained some of our past to us, and then about an hour into the discussion Serenity popped in, literally."

"I remember that," Vanessa said with a snicker, "Four thirteen-year-olds screaming their heads-off, while the little eleven-year-old was sitting cross-legged on the floor muttering that we were bakas."

The Sailor of Earth chuckled, "They started laughing at that, and we calmed down. The four of us weren't very fluent in Japanese back then, so I'm not sure what exactly Elayne said. Anyway, she rambled on for like two minutes in Japanese causing them to laugh even harder."

Aurora quickly took back over, not thankful for that being brought up, "We were supposed to receive our powers a year later, but they thought it necessary since they had sensed an unrest in the area. How we ended up in America is beyond all of us. Instead of being sent to the southern half of Japan, we ended up in the western hemisphere."

She idly twirled a strand of her hair, "They were right about us needing our transformers a year prior, though. I mean, I know New York isn't exactly the safest city in the world, but crime-rate near tripled and the presence of negative energy increased by at least eighteen percent."

The Ronin of Halo was pale, and he felt his heart bottom out upon hearing the last sentence. The young man had already worked out the numbers in his head, having found out before that the Elementals were born in nineteen seventy-six. If they received their powers when they were thirteen that would have had to make the year nineteen eighty-nine, the same year as…

He hastily shut his eyes, and took slow deep breaths to keep calm, putting into practice all the techniques for emotional restraint his grandfather had taught him.

Cye also seemed a bit shaken by this, quietly stating, "You're all from New York."

"No!" Came the reply from three of the young women, each vigorously shaking their heads.

The Ronin of Strata arched an eyebrow, looking for further explanation and clarification on the matter.

"Not originally," Callista spoke up, sensing her comrades' reluctance to go on, "Each of them moved there due to family-derived circumstances. I'm the only born native," She then turned and glowered at her friends, "And would you stop over-reacting! There's nothing wrong with my city!"

"Sure there isn't," The red-head muttered as she counted off on her fingers, "Besides the polluted lakes, rivers, streams…"

Callista chucked a pillow at her, "There's pollution in the air all over the world, but you don't see me complaining like you do about your dumb water!"

A smirk adorned Vanessa's face as she retorted, "Maybe you should."

"Hey!" A voice snapped in annoyance, "Would you two menstrual cases keep it down?"

A familiar head of raven hair poked into the room, a distinct scowl on her face, "I can hear you outside, loud-mouths."

Kirstin raised an eyebrow, uncrossing her arms, having been prepared to tell her two friends to shut-up; "When did you go outside?"

"Five this morning, same as always," Elayne replied now suddenly aware that the Wannabes were not the only people in the living room. "Umm, I don't want to know, do I?"

Rowen gave a slight chuckle, "We're having a discussion."

"Sounded more like arguing to me," the girl grumbled to herself, as she retreated into the kitchen and began to scrounge around in the refrigerator.

Her need for food had overridden her sense of staying as far away from the warriors as possible while they were having a heavy discussion. There were just some things she didn't want to know. But now, her need for nourishment was at an all time high, as she felt extremely weak and light-headed.

Aurora sighed silently thankful that someone else had caused Callista and Vanessa to cease bickering. After a while, Kirstin got extremely tired of separating them and had the tendency to complain about it.

The argument had provided her time to think, however, mainly over Sage's reaction and how Cye had seemed so grave about them being from New York.

She quickly had also added to the fact that each Ronin had tensed when she had mentioned the fact that the negative energy had risen… Something was definitely wrong about this picture. But what could it possibly be?

The Sailor of Light thought it over a little, certain things starting to stir in the back of her mind. Old conversations, events that had transpired not long after she and her friends' had found out most of what they were.

And then it hit her hard; the discussion the four young women had and what they learned from Vanessa's grandfather, plus what the Ancient had told them about the legendary Yoroiden Samurai Troopers. The armors!

"AHAH!" She jumped up in surprise, eyes wide in excitement, "You _were_ the ones in New York; it really was you!"

"What?" The Inner and Outer Scouts voices demanded in annoyance, and some in confusion.

Callista let out a shriek, and pointed accusingly at Cye, "I thought you seemed familiar! You're the guy…"

Sea-green eyes were widened in surprise and shock, "Bloody hell, you ran into me!"

Kento bit back a snigger he remembered that well, "Impaled you, actually. On a skateboard of all things, can you believe that?"

"It's not funny," the two spat at the Ronin of Hardrock; who quickly threw his hands up in surrender grinning as he did so.

"Actually," Elayne offered from the kitchen counter, as she chewed on a piece of fruit, "I thought it was hysterical. Then again at eleven, that would seem funny. It wasn't every day one got to see sights like that."

"Always were simple minded," Ryo teasingly stated, trying to lighten the mood which would get considerably darker if he had to explain what they were doing in New York.

"Nobody asked you," the girl retorted with little effort, carefully regarding the Halo Ronin out of the corner of her eye. She knew about New York and what had happened there.

She had heard the accounts from the other Ronins, and after time she had managed to get Sage to open up about it. As she worriedly looked at him now, she knew that even with all his skill he couldn't keep his composure for long.

"Then you must be Uncle Chen's nephew," Kirstin accusingly glared at the Hardrock Ronin.

He looked at her in surprise, "You know my Uncle?"

"We all do, one of our favorite haunts," Vanessa cheerfully brought in, "I love Chinese food!"

* * *

The Wildfire Ronin frowned, thoughtfully. So the Elementals were aware of their presence in New York? It would figure, and with everything that had happened he was surprised the whole world didn't recall. 

It was strange…When Suzunagi had appeared with all of her 'signs' everyone across the globe had been in an uproar; since they remembered what had happened in New York as well as the 'blackout' in Japan that had occurred during nineteen eighty-eight.

Mia had told him, that she had been at some kind of meeting, and ended up explaining what was going on. The full story had been told, and though the young woman had left out their names, it was safe to assume that the people would go through extreme means to get the information out of her.

But the minute the five warriors had taken care of Suzunagi's problem, it was as though that and the incident in New York had never occurred.

The people had gone on with their daily lives, and when Mia had tried to bring it up with the people she knew they had all given her funny looks, and asked her if she was feeling all right.

The frown on Ryo's face now deepened, it was a stroke of luck that had happened, but it couldn't have been coincidence, could it? No, someone or something had caused the people to forget, except those directly involved. He had doubted then, and still did; that Kayura had some how interfered.

Though she was more or less in charge of them now (in a sense at least), over the past few years he had been in contact with the Lady Ancient and she had never mentioned knowing about what had happened let alone being involved in 'modifying' people's memories.

Wildfire's bearer now steered himself back to the current issue at hand; he was afraid to attempt to explain why they were in New York considering everything that had happened…And the fact that Sage was starting to slip in his area of control made him even wearier to broach the matter.

But how was he going to get out of this?

"Heh, that'd be my fault too," Elayne mumbled, she glanced at the wall clock in amazement, "Hey, isn't it time for your afternoon practice session?"

The Ronin of Wildfire let out a silent sigh of relief, and gave a vigorous nod, "Yeah it is, if you'll excuse us. You guys can compare how you ran into one another later."

"Party crasher," Rowen ridiculed, though he quickly got to his feet, "Just for once can't we start ten or fifteen minutes late?"

Ryo gave an indignant snort, "No because then you'll want a half-hour which means you'll sleep in even later in the morning, and miss the full hour of daybreak training."

"Are you reproving me?' The blue-haired archer demanded, an eyebrow upturned at his leader.

Sage gave a shake of his head, trying to act along with them; his nerves were fraying, "He's just stating the truth."

"All right you lot, shut-up," Cye told them in slight aggravation. "You're giving me a bloody migraine."

Kento shook his head and rolled his eyes, but followed after his four friends anyway, he had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

On his way outside, Ryo managed to mouth 'thank-you' to Elayne, who gave a wry grin and nod in acknowledgement.

The minute the door shut, the girl turned and looked at the Senshi, unsure of whether or not anyone had caught on yet.

"That was for what?" Rei impatiently demanded.

Ya, Rei would be the first one to pick up on that…Elayne blamed it on them knowing one another for almost six years.

She was used to that sharp tone, for she answered evenly, "I already asked you last night, not to bring up New York in front of them. You know I told you all I could when you asked three years ago."

Elayne paused for breath, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "Each of you here saw and heard the same things I did. However, those of higher authority decided the general public didn't need to know, and made them forget."

"So those five?…They were the ones?" Michelle asked features pricked into a frown. She could only vaguely recall the explanation they'd been given from the Inner Scouts after Elayne had told them. It was a very bad game of telephone, when you came right down to it.

"Look, let me re-explain this," Elayne furrowed her brows thinking over her words carefully, "One of the armor bearer's was captured, he was subjected to mental and physical torture. Meanwhile the mastermind, in this case a sorcerer, in charge tried to learn how to control the armor. Once having minimal control of it, he began testing its capabilities."

"I remember you telling us that part," Ami murmured, biting her lip in thought. That was as much as she remembered though; she was a bit fuzzy on the rest of the details. It seemed to her, so was everyone else in the room…Serena and Mina were leaning forward in their seats, waiting for Elayne to continue.

The girl took the cue and did so, "Ryo, like most of us, saw the news reports and on a hunch left for New York; the other guys followed. The four of them ended up having to fight the armor when they got there. It took a bit of time, but they managed to rescue the armor bearer. However, not until after the sorcerer had already caused severe damage. Not just physical damage and the death of innocent lives, but emotional."

"Emotional?" Amara asked with a slight scoff, opening her eyes for the first time in hours.

The girl bristled eyes narrowing at the Senshi of Uranus, even though she knew the woman well enough to understand where Amara stood on certain matters…It didn't mean Elayne necessarily agreed.

"Shikaisen," Elayne growled in a cold and flat tone of voice, "Tricked a very good warrior and kind-hearted compassionate person; subjected him to torture that you'll never be able to imagine, and count your blessings, used this person's armor to attack his best friends, and harm innocent people! Innocent people the bearer swore to protect; he couldn't protect himself or those that he cared most about. _AND YOU DON'T THINK THAT'D CAUSE EMOTIONAL DAMAGE?_"

Hotaru gaped at Elayne, shocked that the girl had gotten so defensive of the Ronins and so quickly, "Layne, chill out!"

Elayne paid the request little mind, she kept her eyes on the blonde as though she were challenging her, and in a way she was; "It affected them all horribly, they're bond is tighter knit than most blood-related families! Each felt as though they had let the other down, even though not a one of them could've prevented anything from happening! It took a few months just for them not to wince when the place was mentioned, and it's still a sore wound."

Vanessa gave a slight nod, quickly acting to calm the irate girl, "I'm with Layne, no more mentioning of New York and bothering them as to what they were doing there."

The other young women in the room gave nods or murmurs of agreement, before the telephone rang halting further discussion.

Being the closest, Mina picked it up, "Hello?"

She listened for a few minutes, a frown weaving onto her features, "Uhm, hang on." The blonde gave a thoughtful tilt of her head, "It's for you, Elayne."

The girl broke off her staring contest with Amara, and dashed over taking the phone with a nod of thanks, "Yes?"

A note of worry and concern immediately played upon her face, "Okay then, I'll be there. Bye."

She hung up the phone, and solemnly walked over to the door hefting up her knapsack, "Well, I have to go into work early. I'll try and check in once a week or so, to see if the house is still one piece. Try and be kind to it, Grandma will have a fit if you don't. See you later everyone!"

With that the girl retreated out the door, leaving the Senshi to talk amongst themselves.

* * *

"Stay out of trouble!" Rowen called out at the girl's retreating form, after she had checked on them and explained she had to leave. 

Elayne didn't even have to turn around, as she retorted, "You first, Rowie!"

Cye let out a chuckle watching as the archer fumed having been called by a nickname that he obviously despised.

The Wildfire Ronin uncrossed his arms, "Let's get started on our stretches. No telling how long they'll be distracted for."

"Right," Kento nodded in agreement, casting a sideways glance at the Halo Ronin, "You okay, dude?"

A slight nod of blonde hair was the only response the swordsman attempted to make, as he strolled off the porch and then set about his warm-ups.

The other four followed his example, though each made a slight mental note to keep a close eye on the Warrior of Wisdom.

After thirty minutes, the practice fighting had begun, and currently it had progressed to a rather decent spar.

"Pick-up your shoulder Sage! What happened to you being the great kendo master?" Ryo demanded, engaged in hand-to-hand with the blonde haired young man.

Sage smirked and tripped up his leader; the earlier discussions long forgotten now; "What happened to being the great martial artist, hmm?"

Ryo quickly rebounded, and tried to knock Sage off balance, but the swordsman blocked.

"You two always take this stuff too personally," Rowen stated, sliding past Cye, and trying to land a hit.

But the Ronin of Torrent had purposely let his defense down, and quickly sent Strata spiraling to the ground.

"You're starting to _'slip'_ Rowen."

"Argh…" The archer grumbled and pushed himself up, then proceeded to tackle the Water Ronin.

Kento watched his four friends with a bored interest in the whole affair; being the physically strongest he saw little point in sparring with any of them. Oh he would spar on an ordinary day, but he just wasn't in the mood for it right this minute. He actually needed a reason to spar.

"Kento, what are you doing?" Sage asked, having seen him out of the corner of his eye.

"Watching you four carry on like little kids."

"We are supposed to be practicing!" Cye hollered, before hitting the dirt thanks to Rowen's upper-cut.

"You are just beating yourselves up, before the enemy gets a chance. You are making it easier not harder, ever think of that?" The Ronin of Hardrock returned, crossing his arms as though he were talking to very small children.

Rowen paused, in fact all of them did, "Um…Kento…did you just say what I think you said?"

"Okay, that's it, you are mine!" The Warrior of Strength angrily huffed, now having motivation.

The blue-haired archer shot a sarcastic smirk, triumphantly stating, "I knew that would work."

Ryo chuckled, deciding to resort to mental communication, _'That was pretty mean though, Ro.'_

'_Ah, so he can pummel me for it, what's the big deal?'_

The Halo Ronin watched in amusement as Kento mercilessly tackled Strata's bearer, "Regretting those words yet, Rowen?"

"Ah, Ryo beat him into the ground would ya? I happen to be a bit busy," Came the reply shout, as he scrambled to get free of the body slam.

In a matter of seconds, Sage was on the ground, groaning, "That was cheap, Ryo."

"No it wasn't, we were fighting; you let your guard down."

"So did you," Cye cheerfully announced, after landing a knock out blow, signaling that the Ronin leader was now out of the match.

Ryo grumbled and muttered something under his breath, before pulling himself up to a sitting position next to Sage. He had been off balance when Cye delivered the hit.

"Shut-up Sage," Wildfire's bearer muttered in annoyance.

The Warrior of Wisdom merely chuckled instead, and then turned his attention back to the remaining fighters.

"Come on Kento, what's a matter? Can't get me, can you?" The nimble archer taunted, as he circled around his friend.

The Hardrock Ronin let out a growl, but noticed Cye coming up behind the circling Ronin.

The bearer of Torrent gave a wink to his best friend, a signal for him to keep quiet so that their plan would work.

Kento gave the set response, which was blinking once for an affirmative, and retorted, "We all know you're a brain, not a fighter. You're careless."

"Me? Careless?" The Ronin of Strata seemed amused by the statement, "Enlighten me please."

"Ha, how many times did we have to bail you out?"

"Hey! Who helped get your sorry hide out of the Nether Realm, huh?" Strata's bearer was annoyed with the remark, and scowled at his friend.

The Warrior of Strength couldn't help but chuckle, "Who got captured by Suzunagi first?"

"Why you…" The Strata Ronin started to make his move, but Cye pulled his off first.

He tapped Rowen on the shoulder, hit one of the vital points, and knocked Strata off his feet, "Sorry, you are out."

"You tricksters!" He looked up at the two of them unbelieving.

Kento and Cye exchanged hi-fives, turned to their three friends and bowed. Both more than pleased with their fighting and set plan.

"Never underestimate the opposition, remember?" The Torrent Ronin grinned, "Kento and I had our strategy planned out early on. You all fell for it."

"Ya, literally," The Hardrock Ronin snickered.

* * *

Aurora watched the five with amusement, and then exchanged looks with her teammates it was apparent to them that the Ronins certainly knew what they were doing. 

"I think I'm going to enjoy working alongside these guys," Kirstin calmly said, as she leaned against the porch railing.

Vanessa gave a slight nod, but muttered, "Let's just hope we survive the next few weeks. Something tells me this isn't going to be a walk in the park."

"I agree with you," Callista sighed, "I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this works out."

Yes they would have to wait, but little did they all know that patience was going to play an important part of their lives for some time to come.


	16. Chapter 15: Lazy Day Conversations

**Chapter Fifteen: **

**Rewritten 9/20/05 **

"**Lazy Day Conversations"**

It turned out Elayne's comment about the Ronins and Senshi having to stay at the Shinwako Mansion for the "entire mess" had seemingly come true. True to her word the girl had effectively told off anyone and everyone with a problem, it'd come back to bite her later she was sure. But, the fate of the world was a little more important than what people thought of her.

The warriors had all notified their families and any employers that they had moved; they made sure their apartments (for those that had them) were paid for and the agreements canceled.

The only one who had a bit of trouble was Cye, having just gone back to renting the apartment the month prior, he was stuck in his contract. So, he'd more or less given Elayne the keys…Knowing that she worked less than three blocks from the place, and that it'd save her the three-mile trip to and from work everyday just to stay close by.

Plus, it gave her a reason to be as distanced from them as possible, with this new enemy, one that had yet to really show itself, he and the other four Ronins had decided they weren't going to take chances with her safety.

As of right now, an official seven days had passed since the twenty-one of them had met in the Lounge. In-between the problems of getting moved out of their other residences and into the mansion (which back in the day had been nothing more than two houses built extremely close together), explaining some sort of cover story to their families, and having faced Raikken three nights out of four…Well, it was needless to state that tempers were on the rise and impatience was starting to grow.

The Inner and Outer Senshi in general had never got along that well; the older Scouts ways of performing tasks were viewed as quite cruel and unnecessary by the younger. And in the Outers opinion, the Inner Senshi's way of doing things was quite ridiculous and all-too naïve.

The Ronins were smart enough to know when to steer clear of the women, and they made it a point of doing so. The five young men were more than content to sit in their own little corner of the house and interact with the women when required.

But every now and then, one of the Senshi would clash with them…Thus bringing in the Sailor Elementals involvement. The four young women had designated themselves as peacekeepers, and were doing their best to deter any arguments.

Kirstin, by nature, was the one who put herself in the middle of arguments amongst her friends, so she was doing it here somewhat naturally. It took quite a lot to make her loose her cool and calm composure; Kirstin would get in the middle of the fight and tell the people arguing to think about the real issue. She'd then kindly point out that screaming wasn't solving anything.

Truth be told, the four Americans were stuck breaking up more Senshi versus Senshi fights than anything else. But that surprised the women very little, since Queen Serenity had kept them up-to-date on so many things.

Hotaru and Trista were perhaps the only ones not arguing with anybody. Being the Time Guardian, the Senshi of Pluto already knew of the Ronins existence and any involvement they had in the past and future. Hotaru didn't see the point in fighting with their newfound, or was it old?, allies as she actually _liked_ having them around. So did the Sailor Elementals; the Ronin Warriors were real and down-to-earth people.

They might have had more fighting experience and a better grasp on dealing with evil in its varying forms, but they didn't parade that information around or look down on the Senshi because they had less experience.

Though, Aurora was sure the five young men were very tempted to point that out sometimes, what with the Inner Senshi's clumsiness and all.

"I don't understand how Universe ever managed this," Vanessa lazily muttered, sprawled out on her bed.

It was raining, and had been for the past day and a half, so that certainly wasn't helping anyone's mood.

The four Elemental Senshi were in their room, trying to avoid the other people they now shared living space with; they needed the breather.

Kirstin let out a chuckle, remarking in humor, "Me either, with hot heads like us, and then the others to top it off? The girl was the most patient being in this galaxy, that's for sure."

"We probably all knew her on a personal level and got used to each other because she was the link between us. My friends are your friends, sort'a thing," Callista yawned and put down her book, how she hated rainy days. They always made her sleepy!

"I wish she were still here. She'd know how to handle these winners," Aurora muttered in annoyance; the leader of the Elementals was starting to regret lending their fellow Senshi a hand.

The Water Scout raised a red-eyebrow at her friend, "Winners?"

"The Inner and Outer Scouts," Aurora grumbled, "The Ronins don't happen to be a problem. It's the fact that those _**girls**_, can't get along without getting argumentative!"

"Don't worry Orey, it'll work itself out," Kirstin offered her friend an encouraging smile, munching on a bag of pretzels.

"Ya, but what happens when Kali or Thanos shows up, and we are at odds like this? Don't you think they'll have a ball?" The Light Senshi was on her feet now, moving around the room in agitation her hands clasping and unclasping as she paced.

"Then if that's what it takes to get them to work as a team, then that's what it takes," Callista said in a firm tone of voice, for this her three friends stared at her in shock.

"What?" The Air Warrior arched an eyebrow at her friends, "Universe was the only one who knew how to keep us together; we've been trying to do her job, and we can't. If they are not going to listen to reason, then maybe it'll take a hard loss before they realize that this can't go on."

"But…Callie…" The Water Senshi still couldn't believe what she was hearing.

The Elemental Leader sighed gloomily, "You're right Callie, I just hope it doesn't come to that."

"Ya…I think we all agree on that," Kirstin shuddered, "We haven't even met these two henchmen yet, and there's no telling how strong they are."

* * *

A knock on the door caused them to cease talking; the four young women exchanged glances, and Aurora tentatively answered, "Yes?" 

Sage entered an eyed them in amusement, "Hiding are we?"

"We are trying to take a break from you people," Vanessa shot to him in annoyance, truth be told out of all the Ronins she found that Halo was the most obnoxious.

Most times she had been tempted to actually do him physical harm, until the Senshi of Light stepped in and told her to behave.

The blonde swordsman was prepared to make a retort, but Cye stepped in behind him, asking cheerfully "Us? Now why would you want that?"

"What are you up to?" Callista asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

As if on cue Rowen walked in, saying easily, "We're blowing this joint for a few hours; we thought we'd be hospitable neighbors and offer you four the chance to get out of here."

Kento chuckled, playing with the keys to his van, "I'm driving."

"Yes freedom!" Kirstin happily announced as she tossed her trash into the bin next Callista's bed, "Guys you just made my entire week."

Vanessa snorted and rolled her eyes, though said in agreement, "I know I could use sometime away from this stuffy place."

The Air Senshi frowned, but relented, "Okay, ya let's go."

Aurora scowled a bit, eyeing Kento apprehensively, "As long as you can stay in-between the lines, I'll go."

Kirstin seized her leader by the arm and hauled her out of the room, saying in exasperation, "Ignore her Kento, she's always like this."

"I'll take your word for it," The Hardrock Ronin quipped, pausing and exchanging a word or two with Ryo on their way out of the house.

The raven-haired young man shook his head, chiding, "Nah, you guys go ahead and have fun. Just make sure to bring the ladies back before curfew."

His four friends shot him the nastiest looks they could muster, leaving the young women to snigger under their breaths.

* * *

Darien tilted back his head and closed his eyes, trying to block out the sound of the people downstairs. 

Artemis stopped grooming; and looked at the young man worriedly, "Are you all right?"

Darien opened his eyes, and blinked a couple of times, briefly glancing out the window, which assured him that it was still raining. "It's gloomy around this place, and the girls are at each others throats. The rain isn't helping my mood any."

Rini entered the room without knocking, a certain amount of skip in her step, "The Sailor Elementals and the Ronins left, guess they're going out for a while."

Darien turned his eyes to the small child that one day would be his daughter, "And what about the others?"

Diana trotted in beside her charge, tail high and proud, "They've left too. The only ones still here are Ryo and White Blaze."

"Where's Luna?" Artemis demanded upon hearing the tiger's name being mentioned.

"Not getting jealous of the tiger are you?" Darien teased the cat.

"Of course not," Artemis titled up his head, and puffed out his chest to prove how macho he was.

Rini and Diana giggled, the two young ones found this scene far too funny for words.

Darien chuckled at the animal, shaking his head as he did so. It was no secret as to how much Artemis liked Luna, and how far he would go to make her happy and proud of him.

"Artemis, why do you look like a puffed up marshmallow?" Luna asked, bounding into the room, and landing on the desk that Darien was sitting at.

"I…umm…I," The white cat was grasping at straws, instantly deflating.

Rini and Diana were in hysterics now, Darien tried to give them a scolding look, but failed as he succumbed to his own laughter.

The white cat just grumbled to himself, he couldn't win!

* * *

The majestic white tiger was laying in the living room, his ears twitched back and forth as he listened to the commotion upstairs. He gave a low grunt as he tried to rollover and go back to sleep. 

Ryo watched his tiger's futile attempt to return to slumber, and got to his feet, perhaps it was time someone talked to this 'Darien' character. The Wildfire Ronin felt sorry for him, being stuck around all those girls really had to be a trying test of patience for the poor young man.

White Blaze opened his eye a crack, and emitted a low rumbling noise.

Ryo paused, being around the tiger so long had enabled him to know most of what the creature was thinking. So he knew what Blaze had asked; "I'm going up to be a little more hospitable to our friends. Might as well face facts Blaze, we are stuck with them."

The tiger gave a slight inclination of his head, before heaving himself to his feet, and padding after his master.

Ryo knocked on the outside of the open door, not wanting to intrude; he had to at least try and be polite, didn't he?

Darien regarded him curiously, not quite sure what the young man wanted.

Rini gave her future a father a glare, and then promptly stepped on his foot, noting the man had made no move in acknowledgement.

He slightly winced, quickly figuring out why she had done that; "Come on in Ryo."

Ryo suppressed the chuckle dying to escape him after witnessing that, "Thanks, hope you don't mind. But I figured we might as well make an effort to get along."

"Good idea, having the girls out of the house helps," Artemis noted with a chuckle.

Ryo seemed a bit surprised with that remark; it must have shown for Luna spoke, "Yes, we find them annoying at times ourselves."

"Well, that's news to me," The Ronin leader stated in humor, taking a chair opposite Darien, "How did you ever wind up with them?"

"Long story," The young man laughed, and then grinned, "Hope you don't have anywhere to go for a while."

Rini and Diana looked at each other with a knowing grin, in their time the Ronins were quite active. To see the first meeting occur had been more than fascinating to them, and being able to watch as events started to take place was even more so.

White Blaze regarded the scene before him, gratefully since he remembered the past lifetimes with a vivid detail, as if they had happened the day before. In his mind, this conversation was a good one. It was about time they all started to fall back into their old patterns, even though, he was certain that his master and his friends would not find said 'patterns' as being old.

* * *

"No way, you're kidding!" Ryo didn't know whether to burst out into hysterical laughter, or just gape in shock at the tale. 

"How many times have I wished that?" Darien joked, "Nah, just kidding. I just hope Rini behaves better in the future than she does here. She has a listening problem."

Ryo chuckled, as he looked at the child who had curled up against White Blaze and gone to sleep, "She's a good kid. I just hope your wife is more mature than she is now."

"You and me both," Darien laughed, "Otherwise they'll still argue like this."

The young man leaned back in his chair, musing aloud, "I wonder when they'll all get back?"

The Wildfire Ronin snickered, "Well for the guys, there's no telling."

Darien could only shake his head in amusement, "You really shouldn't pick on them; they'll make you suffer for it later."

He shrugged in return, "I'm entitled. I've endured enough of their teasing over a girl I just couldn't get along with."

Darien looked rather intrigued at this, while Rini asked stifling a yawn, "Oh, Mia right?"

The Ronin leader blinked in surprise, not having realized the child had awoken, "I told you?"

Rini nodded, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "I didn't get the guys' running joke, so you explained it to me."

Ryo shook his head, "They still won't let up, will they? Typical."

"Come on Ryo," Darien chuckled, saying lightly, "I gave you my life's story; you can at least give me this one in return."

"All right," The bearer of Wildfire snickered again, a grin quickly capturing his features, "Just don't laugh too hard."

* * *

After the tale there was not a dry eye in the room, especially the part about how much trouble the other four Ronins had gone through to know what went on when Ryo and Mia went out once. 

"So they did all of that, just for your one and only date?" Darien's sides were painfully throbbing from all the laughing he had done.

"Yeah, I knew it was them the whole time," He grinned in amusement, "It wasn't even a date really; I just owed her a dinner. I like Mia, but she really isn't my type. To be quite honest, I always thought she and Sage would go pretty well together."

"Did the whining for you to save her all the time do it?" Artemis howled out. Never in his life had he heard of such nonsense happening, four grown men, going so far as to…He began laughing harder.

Ryo rolled his eyes, letting them linger on the ceiling for a moment, "Look, she was an innocent, she didn't have an armor to protect her, and she didn't know any forms of self defense. But after a while, the constant being doted on got annoying to a degree and it doesn't help I have a short fuse either. To be blunt and perfectly honest, the two of us had nothing in common outside of being stuck in a war. I'm always going to see Mia as my sister, nothing more and nothing less."

"Hmm…" Luna grinned that cat-like grin of hers, "I think you were holding out on seeing Elayne again."

"Have you been talking with the guys? That's what they keep using, if they…"

"Take it easy Ryo; you'll get them back later," Rini giggled, knowing full well the young man would.

From what she could see, little had changed about the Wildfire Ronin; he was still as devious and as much of a troublemaker in her time as he was here.

"Trust me kiddo, I have plans too," Ryo winked at her, then stood up, "Wow it's three already, time flies."

"Ya," Darien slowly got to his feet, "Come on Rini. I know I promised I'd take you out, and it looks like the rain has stopped. You're welcome to join us Ryo."

"No thanks, I'll hold down the fort," Wildfire's bearer responded, he really wasn't in the mood from venturing far from the house.

Artemis chuckled, saying in amusement, "You just want to be here when the eight of them come strolling through that door, so you can give them a hard time."

"Am I _**really**_ being that obvious?" Ryo asked the cat with a smirk.

* * *

"Any particular place you ladies would like to go?" Kento asked from the driver's seat, looking into his rear-view mirror at them, "Just give me the directions." 

"Can we stop at the mall?" Vanessa inquired curiously, "I want to check the music store, running out of things to listen to."

"Not a problem, I actually know where the mall is," Hardrock replied.

Callista seemed to perk up, "Great, I need to check and see if my books came in yet anyway."

"Books, what kind?" Rowen was wide awake now, having started to drift to sleep like he normally did during car rides.

Sage let out a groan, and shook his head, that was oh-so-typical of the blue-haired archer and Ronin genius, and once he got started on books the man would never shut-up.

Aurora sniggered to herself, emerald-green eyes once more drifting back to the window, the rain had let-up slightly now.

* * *

"Okay everyone out," The Ronin of Hardrock cheerfully announced a short time later, having found a parking space. Amazingly, the rain had now completely stopped allowing the sun to warm and dry the earth. 

Cye quickly leapt out of the van, causing Rowen to laugh at him.

"What a matter fishie? Still don't like Hardhead's driving?" The Strata Ronin teased.

The Ronin of Trust glared at the archer, "Stuff it book-worm."

"All right children," Kirstin chided them both, "Let's play nice, we're in public after all."

The two young men stared at her in disbelief, while the Water Senshi gave the young woman a high five.

Sage shook his blonde head ruefully, and strolled after them all, doing as he always did during such outings, keeping far removed from a group and to himself.

Normally, Rowen would try and draw him out of his shell, but that wasn't going to happen today.

Currently the archer was engaged in a deeply complicated scientific conversation with the Senshi of Air, who was returning his terms with even more incomprehensible ones.

Vanessa and Kirstin seemed to be talking about their last performance of the year, and what a good turnout it had been.

Then they'd stop and ask Cye and Kento for their input on the matter and what the two Ronins had thought, what could do with improving, and anything else they could think of.

Aurora…the Ronin of Halo frowned noticing she was no longer with the group.

He caught sight of her just a bit a head of them, engaged in conversation with a familiar head of raven hair.

"Ah there she is!" Kirstin happily chirped, quickly rushing up to the younger teen and trying to throw her into a bear hug.

"Ah Kirs!" Elayne yelped quickly diving away from her friend, "Not in public!"

The Senshi of Earth smirked, having been trying to embarrass the young girl, "I'm crushed!"

"Better you than me," The girl calmly retorted, upon seeing the Ronins she arched an eyebrow, "Geez, you all don't waste anytime do you?"

Callista playfully whacked the girl on her head, "Hush you."

"Ow!" She mumbled in complaint, rubbing her head.

Sage let out a chuckle, eyeing the girl in amusement, "What are you doing here?"

"Lunch break," Elayne mumbled stifling a yawn, "You need any more med supplies or are we good on those?"

"We're all right for now," Vanessa quickly answered, "I brought over what we were using for ourselves from the house."

The girl gave a nod, "Okay then, I'll leave you to your _'fun.'_" She laughed as each person turned a different shade of pink or red, and then dashed off becoming lost in the crowd around them.

"I'm going to strangle her," The Water Senshi grumbled, "Just put my hands around that scrawny little neck, and _SQUEEZE_!"

Kirstin patted her friend on the shoulder, "Yes, whatever you say Ness. Didn't you want to check the music store?"

The red-head's entire demeanor changed, as she took Cye by his arm, "Come on, I'm abducting you for the next half-hour. See you guys at the usual spot."

The Ronin of Trust merely chuckled, as he followed the young woman to the music store.

The Senshi of Earth groaned, "Oh brother, I knew this was a bad idea. I'm going to go protect Cye. Poor fool doesn't know what he's getting himself into."

The Hardrock Ronin burst out laughing, "I'll come with you, this I've got to see."

"Okay but she's a nightmare, trust me," Kirstin said in a serious voice, "A very bad re-occurring nightmare."

Callista shook her head and rolled her eyes at Aurora who merely gave a nod in response.

The Strata Ronin caught this and asked, "Are they…"

"Always like this?" The Air Senshi finished, "Unfortunately, yes."

"Great another fine mess we've gotten ourselves into," Rowen mumbled under his breath, earning him a sharp rasp on his head from the woman.

"You heard Mother Kirstin," Callista said in a cheerful tone, "Mind your manners when you're in public."

Aurora tried to snort back her laugh, but failed to do so, incurring a death-glare from her best friend to which she smiled weakly at.

"Didn't you say something about 'books'?" The platinum-blonde sweetly inquired of the Air Senshi.

Coffee brown eyes widened in surprise, "Ah I forgot! Come on blue-hair!"

"Hey!" Rowen hollered after her retreating form, quickly stalking after her, "Like you've got room to talk?"

Aurora let out a loud groan, "Great, I'm surrounded by odd-balls."

A deep chuckling noise from behind her caused her to wince and turn around another weak smile on her face.

Sage was grinning once more in amusement, "Do you always term your friends as 'odd balls'?"

"When they start acting like anime characters? Yes," the woman responded unashamed with making the statement.

The Halo Ronin laughed at this, and fell into step with her as they resumed their silent walk.

* * *

Surprisingly after ten minutes or so of silence, the woman made an attempt at small conversation. It soon stemmed into a long one that they managed to wrap up by the time they got to the Elementals preferred meeting spot; one of the restaurants in the mall. 

Aurora slid into her seat, and motioned for the swordsman to take the one next to her, he did so with a nod for acknowledgement.

He now knew Aurora's middle name (Mieko), that each Elemental was of Japanese descent, and quite a bit about their family lives, just enough to satisfy his curiosity.

Of course, he reciprocated telling her about his life and family…Here he had to roll his eyes, he loved them dearly but they could drive him up a wall most days.

If Aurora had seen him roll his eyes, she didn't make mention of it, she merely waved at Callista and Rowen's approaching forms.

Not to Sage's surprise, the archer was carrying a bag filled with books and to his great amusement so was the Senshi of Air.

"Hey!" Callista chirped happily, sliding into her seat, "Ro almost bought out the entire bookstore."

To this the Strata Ronin sheepishly grinned, sitting down by the swordsman, "Not really, I only bought four books, you got eight."

"Because I had already ordered six of them; duh," She retorted with a wink.

The two of them had been bantering like this ever since they had split up from the group, they had found it easy to get along, and sharing the same element might also have played a part in that.

The Light Scout let out a low groan at their behavior, and then shifted her attention having caught sight of four familiar people.

"There they are!" Kirstin announced all of a sudden, quickly walking over to what the restaurant owner had deemed the WannaBe table.

They had frequented the place so often, that he had set aside a table just for them, considering the young women happened to be his best customers.

Vanessa smiled pretty pleased with herself; during the half-hour she had managed to expose the Ronins of Hardrock and Torrent to a variety of music. She herself had purchased enough music to last her for the next two weeks, maybe a little over that.

She plopped into her chair, stating with pleasure, "Cye and Kento have been exposed to Ness' Music Hour."

"Sad to say they're both still able to hear," Kirstin piped in, handing a menu to the Water Ronin who was to her right.

Cye chuckled and quickly leafed through it, then handed the menu to the Warrior of Strength, who gladly took it.

Aurora moaned louder this time, and laid her head against the table, murmuring pitifully, "Why me?"

"They couldn't find anyone to replace you?" Callista offered, looking around the mall briefly. She could've sworn that she had seen, or felt that someone was watching them.

Her eyes narrowed briefly, as she now saw a woman with long midnight-blue hair that could've easily been passed off for black, talking with Elayne. So intent was she on watching the two converse back and forth, that Callista took no notice of when the waiter arrived to take their orders.

"Your order miss?" The waiter once more inquired, having already acquired everyone else's. He shifted his weight to his other foot, waiting for a response.

Aurora gave her friend a sharp kick under the table, causing the Air Scout to wince and yelp in surprise.

Callista glared daggers at her leader, before saying to him, "Just the usual."

"All right, Callie no problem," The waiter jotted down something, recited the menu and upon getting the confirmation that everything was correct, he walked off.

By this time, Elayne and her friend had already disappeared much to the Air Senshi's disappointment; so, to return the favor she slammed her best friend in the knee.

"YOUCH!" The Senshi of Light yowled out, furiously rubbing her knee, "That hurt."

"You think?" Callista retorted, scanning the mall again, and letting her shoulders slump in defeat.

Kirstin gave the two a warning look about their antics, and then inquired, "What was so interesting anyway?"

"I thought I felt eyes on us, and when I looked there was this young woman talking with Elayne, casting glances our way every now and then. Thing is, I've never seen her before, and we know almost everyone Elayne works with."

"She could be new on the job," The Ronin of Torrent offered up.

Callista shook her head, "No, I don't think so. There was something odd about her; I could sense something from her."

"Could be one of Elayne's psychic friends stopping by for a visit," Vanessa said, turning over the page of the magazine she had picked up.

"Oh that's true," The Scout of Air relaxed a little, but she still had doubts about this person's energy. It had felt different, far too different to be just psychic.

She let out a sigh, she might never know; it was just one of those things that would forever annoy her since she would never get an answer to it.

* * *

Kirstin just shrugged her shoulders, and played with the straw in her drink; tuning out the world around her for a moment or two. When she came back, she wasn't too surprised to find the table dead quiet. 

"Talkative bunch, aren't you?" She queried, slightly startling the Ronins of Torrent and Halo.

Kento let out a chuckle, "Ya regular party people. Especially when you have someone that insists you get up to train…"

"At six in the morning," Rowen and Sage grumbled together, shaking their heads in annoyance.

Callista blinked a few times at the two young men, "Wow, do you guys rehearse or something?"

The Ronin of Torrent chuckled, "No they've always been like that, from what we've been able to gather at least."

Rowen was prepared to kick at the man from underneath the table, only to receive one from the Earth Scout.

"Youch!" The Ronin of Strata painfully yelped.

Kirstin gave the man a look, "I could've sworn I told you to mind your manners."

Rowen winced, rubbing the sore spot, "Geez, what are you my mother?"

"Kirstin is everyone's mother," Vanessa told him with a smirk, "She's our peacekeeper."

"Basically, I break up the fights before they start," the woman stated with a smug grin, "When I can, but even I'm not skilled enough to handle Serena and the other girls."

The Halo Ronin said the statement before he could stop himself, "I don't think anyone's _that_ talented."

The whole table cracked up at this, leaving the blonde swordsman to sheepishly grin, he hadn't really meant to say that aloud.

"Now that was funny," Kirstin chuckled wiping her eyes, "For someone who doesn't talk a lot you've got some amount of wit."

"I'll take that as an off-handed compliment," he chuckled a little; Sage was finally starting to get used to the idea that he would be stuck with these characters for a while and slowly starting to permit his barriers to drop.

The Hardrock Ronin let out a yawn, how he hated having to wait on food, "So, you did say you'd give us the story on the Shinwako grounds 'one of these days.' How about today?"

"Bored, huh?" Aurora asked the man in amusement, "Sure why not, it couldn't hurt, could it?"

"Heh," the Water Senshi snorted, "If Elayne finds out you've been fueling the myth again it might hurt."

A roll of emerald-green eyes was the response from the blonde, as she started into what she had heard of the place.

"Okay. Three lesser known clans, decided to band together for protection this lead to the building of two small villages; one where the Estate rests and the other where the Mansion sits. Over time the clan's children married in what you could call a 'safety circle' meaning they didn't marry outside of the two villages, even though Tokyo wasn't that far away."

"Now the reason this place was so little known was due in part to the fact that there was a forest just as thick as the one behind the mansion now, in front of where the Estate is. This kept it hidden from view, and rumor had it that spells and incantations had been put in place to hide it from outsiders."

"Interesting," Rowen noted with a thoughtful frown, "So what's the myth portion?"

She grinned at the young man, "Rumor also had it that this clan went so far as, during the war period, to 'abduct' families of officials who were ordered to commit suicide; this was supposedly done upon the lord of the house's request. Back to the facts, umm…After that they tore down the one village, and put up the mansion and started to planning the Estate. However, about sixty years ago the forest by the Estate caught fire and burned what was built to the ground."

Cye frowned slightly, knowing where the rest of this story went, "Then about thirty-years ago the Catarina's showed up re-claimed the land since it was technically theirs had the Estate re-built, and that was that until Lindsay and Elayne were born. Then the death of their families happened, and Nakahara-san was in charge until such a time Elayne came of age, or he died. All of us knowing what happened first."

"Grandfather said Nakahara-san was always in poor health though," Sage coolly pointed out, "And I have to agree, the man was always pale and hacking."

"That guy gave me the creeps," Kento murmured as he involuntarily shuddered, "He wasn't quite 'all there' if you know what I mean."

"We never met him, but when you forced it out of her…Elayne gave a pretty good character description," Vanessa made a face, "And from what she said, I know I wouldn't have wanted to meet him."

The other three women at the table gave avid nods of agreement.

All discussion halted completely upon the arrival of their waiter and the loud chime from the Senshi's of Air and Earth of 'FOOD!'

Somewhere else, the same young woman who had been talking with Elayne not more than twenty minutes before, slipped out of the mall.

She then proceeded to walk across the street, finally vanishing amongst the throngs of people moving about that day.

* * *

_A/N: Well here's a longer chapter for you, mainly because I couldn't find a way to split it up that it'd read all right. At any rate, Book 2 is coming along nicely. Last week (March 3-7th) was my Spring Break and I managed to complete 9 chapters. Wish I could do that every other week, I'd have the whole series done by the end of this year. Here's to wishful thinking!_

_ Hope you are enjoying the story so far. If you have any questions or comments, I'd love to hear 'em. You can PM, or e-mail me._

_LG_


	17. Chapter 16: Enter Kali

**Chapter Sixteen: **

**Rewritten 11/1/05 **

"**Enter Kali"**

It was nine at night before the eight of them returned, thoroughly exhausted having hit more of Tokyo in one day than any of them had thought possible.

White Blaze padded over to Ryo and whined impatiently, rubbing into his master's hand and then let out a rumble.

The Wildfire Ronin stirred, slowly opening his eyes and turning and looking to where the tiger was, and then caught sight of his friends.

A grin crept over his face, as sleep lost its hold on him, "Back already? Curfew isn't for another hour and a half guys."

Rowen made a face at his friend, "You're just jealous because Elayne isn't around."

The Wildfire Ronin gave a roll of his eyes, "Please, not that again. So, you ladies have a good time?"

Callista walked over, and punched him in the arm, "Yeah we did. You just keep a lid on it Sanada. Or I _will_ give Layne a call, I happen to know her cell number."

"Ya, ya whatever," Wildfire's bearer grumbled in annoyance, massaging the spot.

Rowen had put his arm around Callista's shoulder, no wonder he liked this woman so much, "She means it you know."

This gave Ryo reason to grin smugly, and he then shot something to his friends telepathically. Sometimes he really loved the new means of communication, while it didn't entail mind reading; it was still fun to taunt the others anyway.

"Ladies, if you'll excuse us." Sage cleared his throat, and rolled up his sleeves so that they would be out of his way.

Kento cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders a bit, and Cye took off his jacket throwing it on the coat rack.

Meanwhile the Strata Ronin had grabbed Ryo by his shirt collar, the raven haired man laughing uncontrollably at their actions.

"That's the best confirmation I could ask for," He managed to get out in between his laughs.

The four exchanged knowing looks, Rowen let go of Ryo, and then they shouted in unison, "Dog-pile!"

Aurora held her head in her hands, and let out a groan, "Only we would find men like them charming."

Her three friends nodded in agreement, and let out long despairing sighs.

* * *

"Say mercy already!" the Torrent Ronin growled at his leader.

Ryo was laughing even harder now, despite the fact that his four friends had him pinned to the ground.

It took him a few minutes, but Wildfire's bearer managed to get out, "Not a chance."

"Guys, let him up already, you're putting a dent in the floor," Vanessa chuckled, shaking her head in suppressed mirth.

"Ness, if he had just said to you what he said to us, you wouldn't let him get up without dolling out severe amounts of pain," Kento stated evenly, this caused Ryo to laugh more.

"You guys are going to be on Elayne's bad side…She wanted to be the one to inflict the damage. 'Member?" Callista was trying hard not to laugh herself.

One thing about it, the Ronin Warriors had a certain amount of entertainment value to them.

The Strata Ronin sighed in defeat, "Okay, okay."

The four reluctantly let their leader up. Not wanting to let this go, Ryo slyly inquired, "Want to know what I said to get them so mad, ladies?"

Sage dove for his leader in an instant, but the Ronin of Wildfire had expected this, and quickly leapt out of reach.

"No thanks Ryo, we had the general idea a while ago," Kirstin then laughed at the look on all fives faces'; talk about priceless!

"Ha, you are not stuck with your average women. We are pretty smart, ya know," Aurora winked, before beginning her ascent up the stairs.

Times like these she despised this staircase, she stopped about the third or fourth step, a sudden feeling of uneasiness overtaking her.

The same feeling had filtered across Callista's senses, and she asked quickly, "Hey Ryo, where are the other Scouts?"

The young man offered a shrug of his shoulders "They left not too long after you guys did. Didn't say where they were going, or why; but with as volatile as their tempers have been lately, I didn't bother to ask."

The Water Senshi was on edge now, she turned on her heel, "Come on, there's trouble."

"Ya we had figured on that one," Kento responded, referring to the fact that he and the other four Ronins were in their undergear already.

Aurora quickly pulled out her transformation stick, as did her other three teammates, in one voice they shouted "Transform," and in a brief moment the Elemental Senshi were ready.

Without so much as a nod for acknowledgement, the eight people left the house at a dead sprint heading to where the negative energy lay.

They could only hope that they would make it in time to help.

* * *

Boredom, that's what had lead her to send out a handful of Raikken that night to go and ruffle the Scouts. How she loathed those pathetic warriors, she had no doubt that she could take care of them in an hour.

However, getting permission to leave the tunnels, their domain as it were wasn't that easy to come by. Thanos had absolutely refused to go and ask their master for what he thought on the matter, so she had ended up going down and asking herself.

She strolled back to what served as her room, he had given the okay, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to go out just yet.

The ice demonness took her sword soundlessly out of its sheath, the metal gleamed in the small amount of light available, and looked it over thoughtfully.

The sound of two or three swipes was discernable, before it was returned to it's sheath with a heavy clank; that was when she paused to look herself over in the mirror.

Kali smirked at her reflection, "Time to cause a bit of trouble."

In a whirl of thick smoke she vanished from sight, only to re-appear on top of a lamp post, surveying the trouble the Raikken were causing.

It was apparent to her that the Senshi were actually holding their ground against the Raikken, but she was going to throw a wrench in that plan.

A devious smile curved its way across her face, and she murmured something quietly under her breath, causing the lights in the area to flicker and die.

She leapt down from her perch, quickly tripping one of the Senshi, causing her to fall against another.

Kali smirked in delight; it was easy for her to see in the dark, being rather close to the element itself.

The ice demonness let out a chuckle; causing chaos of this nature was perhaps one of her favorite games. Yes obviously her patience had finally paid off.

"Where are you, coward?" Sailor Mars shouted out, easily detecting the negative energy moving amongst them

The Senshi of Jupiter was waiting for a strike, sensing one coming she leapt into a forward roll, and struck out with her left leg.

Kali let out a hiss in annoyance, and quickly sprang back to her light post perch, muttering something that caused the lights to flicker back on.

Sailor Venus frowned at the appearance of this being, and asked sharply, "Who are you?"

She let out a chuckle, leering at her enemy, "They call me Kali; my Master has sent me to deal with you."

"Stop clinging to the shadows, and fight fairly you coward!" Sailor Uranus growled out.

The demonness narrowed her eyes, and once more shot forward, quickly invading the Scout's personal space, and sending her flying into the nearest building.

She slid back, rounding on Neptune and Saturn who had tried to strike at her next. In a matter of moments, she had contended with each member of the Outer Senshi.

She turned her attention to the Inner Scouts and gave a wicked smile, "So do you five wish to be next?"

The five young women exchanged nervous glances, not sure what to do.

Sailor Moon gritted her teeth together, muttering in a low voice, "Do you think if…"

"We hit her all at once, it might do something?" Mars finished, in the same low tone.

Each woman gave a nod, summoning up their power, and then releasing it all at once. Unfortunately for them, the ice demonness had sensed their rising power level, and had long since departed from her original spot.

"Nice try, but you missed by a long shot," Kali stated in a cheerful tone, licking her lips. She paused a moment going over in her head, possible plans of attack, and then decided on one she preferred, prepared to carry it out.

An arrow suddenly came streaming her way, and slammed into her arm, she gave an enraged snarl and leapt backwards.

"I didn't," The Strata Ronin said in an even tone of voice, already another arrow was notched waiting to be released.

Sailor Nova slid into place next to Sailor Moon asking in concern, "You all right?"

The younger Senshi gave a slight nod, "We are, but the Outers aren't." She eyed the battered woman, worry and fear in her eyes. How could one demon do that much damage, it just didn't seem possible to her.

"You're Kali then, one of Akemliek's cronies?" the Ronin of Hardrock inquired, idly twirling his Bo staff.

She hissed again, pulling the arrow out of her arm, and glared at him, "Yes, and you would be the Ronin pests that Talpa had to deal with. I've heard plenty about you and your armor."

"Well, then show us what your made of," He challenged, twirling his staff a bit faster now, starting to move forward.

Kali let out a chuckle, her intentions had only been to stir things up, "Not tonight, perhaps some other time. I'll be seeing you all around. Ta ta."

In a blink of an eye she was gone, back to the dark and dank tunnels that were her home.

This left the Ronin Warriors baffled, and the Senshi to nurse their wounds in worriment, Kali had come out of nowhere and returned just as quickly. Did this mean they were still being tested?

None of this was making sense to any of them, but soon it would and they would come to understand the enemy's true intentions.

* * *

Kali practically skipped down the corridor down to her brother's room, she knocked loudly on the door.

Thanos grunted out what sounded like, "I'm coming." But she couldn't be too sure, as it had been said in a snarl.

He opened the door, and glared at her, in nothing more than his pant it being the hour of night that it was; he had been in a sound slumber.

She grinned sweetly at him, "Brother dear, Master gave me permission to toy with our prey tonight."

The look on Thanos' face more or less conveyed this message: _'so what?'_

"They'll be easier to take out than I thought; there is no unity among them at all!" Kali chuckled a little, "And, I thought you might be interested to know that the Ronins do seem to be doing what Master predicted."

"They're jumping in to protect the Senshi?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

She nodded, an evil smile back on her face, "The Strata one, he shot me to get me away from those worthless Inner Scouts. I have a feeling the Ronin Warriors will prove to be an interesting enemy for us."

He gave a nod in agreement, "I think I will have to agree with you on that. Now, get some rest Kali. You can brief Master on this tomorrow morning."

She gave a slight nod, and then turned and walked away. Oh the next few months were certainly going to prove to be enjoyable and interesting, of that she was sure.

* * *

_A/N: Yes this chapter is shorter than others; but this chapter represents the end of the story for themonth of September. The chapters in TGOL Book One are separated into 'arcs;' each month represents a different part of the story. In other news, TGOL Book 2 is completely typed up now and has been since March 20, 2008. It is currently being reviewed by my friends, sisters,and betareaders, LWKitty & Yesterday's Tonic. Thanks girls! group glomp_

_Enjoy your chapters; I'm letting you have a few this time around. :-)_

_LG_


	18. Chpt 17: October 1996:A Violent Surprise

_**October 1996: **_

**Chapter Seventeen:**

"**A Violent Surprise"**

**Rewritten 11/02/05**

"Think we should fill them in?" Aurora asked quietly, watching as the Ronins went through their daily practice session.

The Senshi of Air closed her eyes and leaned her head back; listening to the wind as it softly whispered into her ear, "I guess. How much longer can we put it off?"

"I was hoping a bit longer," The Scout of Light murmured. 

A month, that's how long they had been together now so far; Kali had yet to show up again, but the Raikken attacks were getting larger and occurring more frequently.

Tension was once more building in the mansion, and it had them all rather uneasy.

Add to the fact that the Scouts had been leaving the Ronins out of certain discussions, and the Ronins leaving the Senshi out of some of theirs, well it all boiled down to a recipe for disaster. 

What was currently on the Elemental Leader's mind; however, had to deal with the missing Scout that put their numbers one short.

The only one who could keep them together and off of one another's cases, that was no longer amongst that of the living. This was not a topic she liked dwelling on, but she knew the Ronins needed to know everything they could. It was only fair, wasn't it? 

The sparring match had abruptly ended, having slipped into a bickering match over whose reaction time was off, and who needed to take the sparring a little less seriously.

Aurora let out a chuckle, the five young men acted less like adults and more like teenagers some days, "Hey, quit fighting! We need to talk."

The five young men paused in their argument, now aware of the fact that the Elemental Scouts had been watching them the entire time.

'_I forgot about them,'_ Sage groaned through the telepathic link.

Cye chuckled lightly, saying in amusement, _'How could you forget about such pretty girls, Sage?' _

'_Guys, cut it out. Come on,' _Rowen said in a warning tone.

'_Whatever they have to tell us isn't good. Look how solemn they are,'_ Ryo muttered, eyeing the four young women curiously.

'_They've probably decided to tell us this deal about that other Scout, the one Serenity and the Ancient keep referring too,' _Kento was frowning, recalling the last visit from the elders, which had been no more than a week before.

Once more the spirits had mentioned the Scout's name (this time accidentally), and it had only left questions in the Ronins minds. Bigger ones in the Scouts, since they knew about her (the Outer Senshi had already filled in the Inner Scouts on the matter). 

Basically, the way the five young men saw it now, they had been left for the Elementals to handle.

* * *

Vanessa sat down on the porch railing, not desiring to go in the house, "Who wants to start this off?"

"I will," Kirstin offered with a slight frown, "Guys, you may want to sit for this."

The five young men shrugged all at once and flopped down; Kento taking one of the whicker chairs, Cye the floor in front of it, Rowen merely leaned against the porch railing, while Sage and Ryo took the remaining chairs.

"Okay then," The Earth Scout began, after a slight pause, "You guys know of the crystals, but there is one other. It was sometimes referred to as being the Imperium Silver Crystal's 'dark twin' and its purpose was more or less to balance out the Silver Crystal's power. They called it the Cimmerian Crystal, and it was entrusted to a family to be protected from evil. Lindsay's family was the family in charge of that."

Rowen gave a nod, "Makes sense, go ahead."

Vanessa picked it up, "Originally, the Senshi and Princesses were separate people, but they aren't now. Either way it didn't leave the four of us with much, we'd be princesses from provinces on the planets. I'm from Neptune, Kirs is from Uranus, Orey is from Mercury, and Callie is from Jupiter. As for Lindsay, she and the Princess of the Universe are from a planet that Beryl destroyed, but it was a bit beyond Pluto. It was known as Xanthe. Now, the Warrior and whom we know as Sailor Universe, was born on Earth. With us so far on this?"

"I think we all are," Ryo looked over his friends, and received nods in agreement.

"See," Callista took over at this point, "The Cimmerian Crystal is a dangerous object, not only because of it's relation to the Silver Crystal but also what it is rumored to do. It has enough power to destroy the universe under the right conditions, but it can't be used by evil or for evil. Someone managed to implement a fail-safe device of sorts, so while the crystal is a dark object it can't be used for an evil purpose."

Kento was frowning, if it had the power to destroy the universe and couldn't be used by evil…Well he failed to see exactly how wiping out the universe could occur at the hands of someone good.

"Now the thing of it is," The Sailor of Air thought it over before continuing, "Well, to put it simply Galaxy's family, er clan if you will, was divided over who the true rulers were. The King and Queen of the Universe and a good portion of the family was wiped out, leaving the Warrior of the Universe as sole survivor. The surviving half of the clan bickered over who should be in charge; so they compromised. Lindsay became 'Galaxy' and her cousin became 'Princess Universe.'"

Cye snorted down a laugh, it just sounded so corny to hear the girl say it like that. It was apparent to him that she didn't have any love for that character, for her to say such a thing.

"At that time, Lindsay's parents took in the girl we refer to as Sailor Universe, the one the elders refer to as 'Lady,' but they really didn't want much to do with her. So the Princess' parents took her in, and when she turned eight they had her sent off for training," Aurora murmured out, "They planned to use her as bodyguard and double for the Princess."

"Those monsters proceeded to keep her, a child, in isolation for ten years," Kirstin spat out, "Oh it still burns me to think they could do that! Serenity was pissed too; man I have never seen our Queen _that_ mad. But for what it was worth, I have never met anyone calmer, more loyal, insightful, and as cheerful as that Scout was. Being Serenity's bodyguards, and _'working-behind-the-scenes' _like we did, we got to spend a lot of time with Universe. So we could be completely out numbered and she'd cheerfully point out that we could be dead instead…"

"So we ought to _'be thankful that we were alive, for the moment'_." Vanessa brought in grinning despite herself, "She was such a cynic."

"Nah, she just had a really warped sense of humor," the Elemental leader dismissively stated, before getting back on track. "The real kicker was that no one from Lindsay's side of the family could use the Cimmerian Crystal at all. They couldn't even tap into it for an easy thing, like self-healing. Only a descendant with the same blood as the original Sailor Universe could use it; the warrior could as we witnessed on a handful of 'close' occasions."

"So we worked together a bit, learned things about each other, and in the end became pretty close. Then came Beryl's assault on the Moon Kingdom," Callista bitterly muttered, the event still fresh in her head. "We had been sent on a mission to one of the outer planets. We got half-way there when Universe showed up, and said we were needed back at the palace." 

"We got there, but Serenity never called us. We only learned what happened after getting our memories back in this lifetime. Serenity told us that the Raikken had planned to ambush us on our mission, so Universe caught wind of it and got us out of harms way," Vanessa diverted her gaze to the forest, part of her was still annoyed the Scout hadn't let them help.

"When Uni got back, her cousin the Princess," Kirstin shifted her weight slightly, "She had more or less had it with her parents forcing her to stay behind closed doors, and that they had kept her from fighting. So she had Universe keep the Cimmerian Crystal, and she took the transformation pendant."

"Beryl attacked the Princess and nearly killed her, and the Raikken dealt the final blow," Aurora glanced between the Ronins again, watching their reactions to this tale. "Universe had to go out and retrieve the Princess' body, and though her transformer was damaged she took it back. Accounts differ, but most of us agree that Universe was probably on Saturn waiting for Beryl and Metallia's forces. She got stuck fighting with Metallia instead, who at that time had an actual form. Universe had been sent out to buy us sometime, but…"

"During their fight, Metallia remembered the damage done to the transformer. All she had to do was aim at Universe's brooch, and that was it," The Senshi of Air quietly murmured out.

The Ronin of Hardrock let out a low whistle, "And I thought Talpa knew how to throw really cheap shots, it doesn't get much lower than that."

Rowen had a thoughtful look on his face, the tale had certainly intrigued him but there was still one question on his mind, so he asked, "Do you know what happened to the Cimmerian Crystal?"

Vanessa vigorously shook her head, "No, we deem it as being lost." She then glared at him, trying to convey to the Strata Ronin to not press the issue. 

"But it isn't lost," Rowen continued on oblivious of the look, getting to his feet now, having missed the warning; "Its right here."

Aurora now glowered at the Ronin then quickly silenced him with, "Our whole problem has been the fact that she should've been the reincarnation of one or the other. Both died at the Raikken's hands, preventing Serenity from sending their bodies and spirits to the future like she did with the rest of us."

"Elayne isn't a Sailor Scout, and she won't ever be one," Callista stated calmly, "If one of the two Universes hadn't died at the Raikken's hands and just at Metallia's then Elayne would have been one."

Seeing that Rowen was about to protest, Aurora further elaborated, "We know this because we checked her power levels, and plus her energy signature doesn't match either being. Serenity agrees with us, she's checked too. So while the crystal may have gone to Elayne, and she can use it somewhat, she'll never be able to use it to its full extent."

"Well," the Wildfire Ronin broke the silence, "We know the Cimmerian Crystal is still here, and that it can never be used as a dangerous tool. My only concern is: what if the Raikken figure out what it is and who it is with?"

"With as intelligent as those things are and have proven themselves to be?" Kirstin snorted back a laugh, "I wouldn't worry about it too much."

* * *

"You're still steaming about this morning, aren't you?" Aurora inquired of the blue-haired young man.

"Oh gee, how could you tell?" The Strata Ronin rolled his eyes, and took another hard swing.

The Senshi of Light quickly ducked, as the ball went flying over her head, "I don't know…You never miss, and you never get any fouls. Yet, today when you're not missing you are trying to kill me. The bat is not a weapon, Ro."

He gave her a sheepish grin, "Sorry, Orey, I'll try to get a lid on my temper."

"Ha, ya right!" Kirstin shouted from first base, sad to say she was actually quite amused with his behavior.

"Yes. When Ryo learns to get control of his," Rowen shot back. It hadn't been the best morning, for him, he had been awoken rather crudely, namely he had been dumped into the lake (actually it was just an oversized pond). 

The act had been payback for certain comments to the Ronin of Wildfire about a girl, and everyone had been teasing the poor Ronin Leader ever since, saying that he was most certainly crushing on Elayne. So yes, in a way Rowen figured he deserved being tossed into the lake.

However, add to the fact that the morning training session had been more grueling than normal, and then the story the Elementals told…Well, it was certainly not the day to be pressing the Ronin of Strata's buttons for any reason.

The Sailor Elementals had been on their way out to play a game of baseball, it was one of their weekly things that they did, and as of late they had been inviting the Strata Ronin to join them. 

Out of the entire household, he had been the only one to show even a remote interest in the sport; then they learned he was a Hanshin fan and that was the end of that.

Callista tossed the ball back to Aurora, from her spot on second base, "Rowen try to hit the ball, and not us."

"Hey," Vanessa smirked a little, "He's doing fine; the Yanks could hire him."

"Pah, he belongs on the Mets," Kirstin stated coolly, sticking her tongue out at her friend.

The Senshi of Light rolled her eyes at her teammates, then wound up and threw a curve.

He waited, allowed himself to feel the pitch, and then swung at the right moment, sending the ball flying.

The Strata Ronin gave a smug grin, triumphantly stating, "Home run!"

"I'll say. Geez Ro, you hit that to the stone age," Kirstin shook her head slightly; still not sure she had seen the Ronin do that.

Vanessa was thinking along the same lines of her friend, "How did you do that?" 

"Simple Ness, just focused my anger," He chuckled a bit, not adding that he pretended that the ball was Ryo, "So, who wants to be next at bat?"

Callista managed to find her speaking voice, coming out of her astonishment, "I guess I will, if we can find another baseball."

"Not too worry, I've got plenty more," Aurora cheerfully stated, as she pulled another out of her gym bag.

"I'll pitch," Rowen offered as he handed the bat over to the Senshi of Air.

"Ohh," Vanessa and Aurora chided their friend.

Callista slightly growled at them, while Rowen smirked saying lightly, "You two are just jealous."

Kirstin had to laugh, no wonder she liked this guy; as Sage so brilliantly put it, Rowen had a mouth to go with his brain.

The Strata Ronin was more than satisfied with the effect the statement had, seeing as how both young women had quickly closed their mouths.

Callista was now glaring at him in annoyance, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"We get along better than they do with their elemental equals," He winked trying to diffuse her, "Let's just play the game, please?"

Before anything else could happen, a voice casually broke in, "There you are. Trying to sneak out of the house again?" 

"Trying?" Aurora scoffed at the Halo Ronin, "We've been out here playing for the last hour. I think we succeeded." She tossed the ball back and forth between her hands, for further emphasis.

"Oh really?" He raised a golden eyebrow at her, "You probably can't even…"

She scowled at him knowing all-too well what he was going to say, and then quickly chucked the ball in his direction. 

The young man caught it with little effort, "I stand corrected. Not a bad arm."

Vanessa, Callista, and Kirstin stared at him in awe; even the Light Scout seemed a little shocked.

The archer shook his head in amusement, asking with a chuckle, "Want to join us Sage?"

Sage studied the ball a few minutes, before throwing it to his friend, "Sure why not." 

The swordsman jerked his head in the direction of the woods, "Though, I think we should invite Kento and Cye to join us."

"Wha...??" The four girls chorused, looking at each other and blinking in confusion.

Cye and Kento came out from the tree line, both offering small sheepish smiles in greeting.

"You three have been hiding there how long, Sage?" Rowen was howling in laughter.

Here the Halo Ronin looked to be embarrassed, "Um...well…not long. Our main reason for being out here is because the house has become a war zone again." 

"Oh no!" Callista let out a low groan, "Who is it this time?"

"Amara and Rei," Kento rolled his eyes in aggravation, "I swear that Fire Scout goes and looks for fights to pick."

"Ya she does," Vanessa nodded in whole-hearted agreement with the man, "If she can't fight with Serena she has to fight with someone else."

Aurora let out a groan, "Remind me again, we have to deal with the rest of the Senshi because?"

"The fate of the Universe depends on it, or some corny reason similar to that," the archer quipped, tossing the ball up into the air and then catching it as gravity pulled it back down.

Kirstin snorted back a laugh, "I still like to think that this is probably some big joke and we'll wake up tomorrow and someone will be standing there and tell us: _'Suckers, you fell for it.'_"

"I wish," Came the unanimous response from the other seven warriors.

* * *

She was stationed in the shadow of a tree, watching the eight of them as they set about to play their game. A small smile graced her normally emotionless features, as she heard the sarcastic comments being tossed back and forth. 

It certainly hadn't taken them long to get back into the pattern's of old, had it? No, apparently it hadn't taken long at all. The Ronins and Elementals for the most part had always been on good terms with one another, mainly due to the fact their powers came from the same places.

As it stood now, and had in the past, the Ronin Warriors were the strongest out of all the other groups, just due to the fact their armors were so well tied to the elements. Add to the fact the five young men had been fighting demons the longest in this lifetime, well she shouldn't have reason to worry. 

And while the Elemental Senshi weren't particularly strong, they had quite a good bit of power when they called for it. Still it didn't stop her from being apprehensive, after all the Inner and Outer Senshi were still on bad terms.

She furrowed her brows unable to think of a lifetime where those two groups had been on good terms, and could come up with none. She had a nagging feeling that Akemliek's destruction was going to fall more upon the Ronins than any of the other groups. Then again, it had been her belief since the beginning of this mess.

The warrior leaned back against the tree; letting out a strangled sigh…She had watched them all grow up over the years, and in this lifetime she had been so far removed from them. Granted, it hadn't changed her duty or her purpose; that at least had remained the same. However, nothing could change the fact that she missed being around them and having their friendship. Something, she realized now, that she would never be able to earn back.

Her reasons for being here and watching them now, where solely her own; no orders had been given to her as of late. She had a feeling in her gut that something was soon to happen, and that she needed to be around when it did. Just because her role had been limited quite a bit, didn't mean she wasn't aware of ways to get around it. Being as old as she was…Well, she had picked up a few things over the past years that would certainly aid her now. 

Violet eyes swept over the two groups once more, before their owner leaned back into the shadow of the tree and vanished from sight.

Sage quickly turned around and glared at the forest, having felt the presence of someone. What made the swordsman nervous about this was the fact he had felt it before, but the screech from the Sailor Elemental of Air made him switch his attention back to the game.

He deftly caught the speeding ball that would've slammed him in the back of the head had he continued to scan the forest; the Halo Ronin let out a breath thanking his lucky stars that he had quick reflexes.

* * *

"Good game." Kento cheerfully stated, exchanging a hi-five with Kirstin.

"Yeah, we so whooped you though." Vanessa shot to him, walking alongside the Torrent Ronin, who merely chuckled. 

"Did not," Callista shot right back, with a grin.

The Ronin of Trust quickly returned with, "Did too." 

This caused the Strata Ronin to snort back a laugh, "Look Cye, she argues with you like I do."

"Oh joy," Sage and Aurora muttered together, rolling their eyes, "Just what we needed."

"As if one of you weren't bad enough," A voice broke in casually, its owner leaning up against a tree; tiger-blue eyes sparkling brightly. Now whether the gleam was in mischief or mirth…Well, the eight of them weren't quite sure yet. 

"What do you want?" The Water Scout inquired an eyebrow raised at the young man.

Ryo gave a careless shrug of his shoulders, "Nothing, just wondering why it is that you eight always disappear together when the Scouts decide to kill each other."

"Feeling left out?" Rowen teased his leader with a smirk, "Maybe we should give Layne a call, ne?"

The Wildfire Ronin glared at his friend, coolly stating, "She's right ya know? You guys don't waste anytime at all."

"RYO!" Eight beyond annoyed voices hollered angrily.

A smirk was on his face as he quickly transformed into his sub-armor, and took off like a flash.

The four remaining Ronins exchanged knowing looks, geared up and followed after him leaving the four women behind.

Aurora snorted, rolling her emerald-green eyes for the umpteenth time that day, "Of all the times for him to decide that they needed to have a training session."

"You know how he is about that," Kirstin said with a small grin, "He wants them on time, and then done and over with." 

"How about we join them?" The Water Scout was smirking, "It'll make it interesting."

Callista quickly pulled out her transformation pendant, "I'm ready."

A slight moan escaped the Light Senshi's lips as she shook her head, "Why do I have a feeling that this is a bad idea?"

She looked up upon realizing her other three teammates had taken off without her.

"Of all the nerve!" Aurora huffed out, quickly transforming and following after them.

* * *

One thing about the Wildfire Ronin was that when he didn't want to be caught, there was no way possible to catch him. It probably had to due with the fact that the young man was so stubborn and always determined to never go down without a fight.

Add to the fact he currently had annoyed the Sailor Elementals so badly to the point where they were actually trying to help his friends, well he didn't plan on letting anyone win that was for certain.

"Hold him still Hardrock!" Aarde yelled out, trying to maneuver it so she could get in a knock-out blow.

Unfortunately, Ryo managed to slip from Kento's choke hold, causing both Earth Warriors to crash into each other.

The Ronin of Wildfire stifled his laughter, rocking back and forth on his heels, "That's got to hurt."

He then leapt into the air narrowly avoiding Glacia and Cye, and then rolled forward managing to slip past Empyrean and Rowen.

A smirk adorned his face as he hollered over his shoulder, "Missed me!"

Nova was regarding her opponent carefully, watching as he twisted and turned to evade the other four warriors. Suddenly she gave a slight inclination of her head to Sage, and the young man acknowledged.

As the Air and Water warriors pulled back to regain their breath, the two light warriors engaged the Ronin of Wildfire, who was somewhat unprepared for their effort.

The swordsman managed to knock his leader off his feet, and Nova followed up with a clean cuff to the young's mans midriff. Ryo winced and managed to leap back to his feet, narrowly avoiding the knock out blow Halo's bearer tried to deliver.

Rowen had paused all together, a small frown on his face rather taken aback as to how well the two were working together. It was over in only a few minutes, as Ryo soon figured out where they were going to strike next and tripped both warriors up.

"Two to go," The Ronin of Wildfire grinned, whirling to face the last four standing, as it were. 

Rowen and Cye both had deepened scowls on their faces as they regarded their leader, Glacia and Empyrean looked at one another, then at the two men, and then back at Ryo.

Wildfire's bearer shrugged, he didn't know what Strata and Torrent were waiting for either. Suddenly, all four shot forward, leaving him little time to even blink. 

All Ryo was really aware of was the fact that he was dodging hits, kicks, and slams as fast and as hard as he could. His eyes finally decided to refocus, permitting him to see a way out of the box he was currently pinned in.

He carefully slipped out, spun around, and took both warriors of Air out of the fight. 

"Aww, that just leaves the Water Couple." Ryo sounded a bit disappointed that everyone else had fallen so quickly.

The two water warriors merely gave one another a knowing glance, before taking their shot at the Wildfire Ronin. Cye quickly charged forward, then halted completely, went to go for Ryo's side and halted again.

Ryo stared at his friend in bewilderment; unable to understand what the Ronin of Trust was doing, only to figure out when his legs went flying out from underneath of him due to Glacia.

The two water warriors exchanged hi-fives, before Ryo pulled himself back up, not prepared to throw in the towel just yet.

This time the two tried a different tactic, but Wildfire's bearer managed to worm his way out of another tough spot, quickly delivering finishing blows to each.

Ryo let out a chuckle, powering down after everyone else had, "Well, safe to say that was the most entertaining practice fight we've ever had."

"I don't get it, how come we can't beat you?" Callista demanded slightly perturbed. 

The young man merely shrugged, "The Ronin power is tied together, we tend to get better after each fight."

"It has something to do with the fact that these armors are better tied to the elements," The Strata Ronin brought in stroking his chin and thought, "It has affected our performance time, and other abilities. Still and all though, for you to effectively fight against all eight of us…"

The Wildfire Ronin gave a roll of his vivid-blue eyes, "I never stopped training for any reason at all."

Cye's eyes widened considerably "Hold on. You mean after all this time; you've kept up with the same training regimen?"

"Ya," Ryo mumbled out, "Didn't see a point in stopping, not like I had anything better to do."

"Dude, does the term 'overkill' mean anything to you?" Kento inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Instead of replying, all five young men were back in sub-armor, their eyes warily scanning the forest as they took position around the four young women.

"What's wrong?" Vanessa asked slightly puzzled by their actions.

It wasn't something that could be easily explained to an outsider, it was just something that they knew. Maybe it was the armors, maybe their over-developed senses after having fought so many demons, but all that the five Ronin Warriors knew for certain was that when an evil presence was nearby, they could pick up on it.

They had always been able to tell when Dynasty minions were present, that signature of energy had been a relatively easy one to place, and the Raikken's presence wasn't that much different from a Dynasty soldier's. 

A scowl was on the Wildfire Ronin's face as he said in a growl, "We've been surrounded."

Aurora blinked in surprise, "Are you sure?"

All five young men nodded at once, but instead of the Raikken coming at them the attack came about in a completely different way. 

The only thing the nine were entitled to hear was the sound of a maniacal laugh, before being hit by a large blast of darkened energy.


	19. Chapter 18: Outside Intervention

**Chapter Eighteen:**

"**Outside Intervention"**

After managing to separate Rei and Amara, an unsettling quiet had settled over the entire house. No one even noticed that the Ronin Warriors were gone from the premises.

However, as the quiet had continued to go on, the white tiger had begun to nervously pace the living room. This caused a few of the Senshi to raise their eyebrows, but for the most part they tried to tune the beast out.

It was when White Blaze roared, and began to paw at the door that caused them to be concerned. The roar was one of agitation and worry, obviously the animal's acute sense was acting up.

That was when they had felt it, the presence of evil and they had leapt into action, only to arrive far too late to do any good.

Somehow they had managed to get the nine back to the house, but currently the Senshi were trying to figure out what to do.

The Elementals had already stirred and we're now in the current debate, sporting nothing more than a few nicks and bruises; however there was still cause for concern.

Having placed themselves in the immediate line of fire had caused the Ronin Warriors to receive the brunt of the attack. It wasn't so much that the dark energy blast had hurt them, it had more to do with what that energy had ripped up.

The five young men were battered quite well, and the Senshi had no idea what to do in order to help them. Bandaging and cleaning wounds had only been able to go so far, and while Hotaru may have had healing abilities she had been unable to help the Ronin of Wildfire or the Halo Ronin.

Both had sustained heavy injuries; it appeared they had tried to take as much of the hit as possible, something that was easily blamed on Sage's empathic abilities, and as the Senshi had now come to find out, Ryo's foresight.

"Run this by me again, Callie," Lita murmured perplexed, "Ryo has what?"

The Senshi of Air, rubbed the point in between her eyebrows, "Elayne seems to think he has foresight, the ability to foresee or feel things before they happen."

"She means visions in plain terms," Rei murmured out, trying hard not to roll her eyes.

"Oh I gotcha, like you and Layne right?" The Senshi of Jupiter brought in again.

"I get warnings when I call for them," Rei answered trying to bite down her temper, "Elayne only sees things when that jewel wants her too. Without that piece of jewelry I doubt she'd be able to…"

"Rei shut-up," Kirstin sharply stated, "I know where that sentence is going, so can it Prissy Princess. This isn't helping us solve our current problem.

"I don't think anything is going to," Trista broke in a frown on her face, "It's up to them and the armors, I suspect."

Before any arguing could begin, Vanessa let out a sigh through her nose, "Well, you are the Time Guardian. So I guess we ought to leave it up to what you know."

* * *

Rini had found a quiet spot in the house, and Diana had followed her charge as fast as her little legs had permitted.

"I don't get it," the small girl was frowning, "From the stories I've been told, well…This wasn't supposed to happen till November!"

Diana's ears drooped a little, and she nodded slightly, "And the Elementals came in during the beginning of January."

"Right, and the Ronins and our Scouts didn't meet officially until a week after this one, though they had fought in the several small battles in September," the frown deepened on the little girl's face as she tried to think of reasons for this.

"Chibi-Usa," the kitten squeaked, a thought occurring to her. "Was Elayne involved at all the last time?"

"No," the child vigorously shook her head, "She didn't even introduce the groups…wa...Wait! That explains everything. Things are happening sooner because they met sooner!"

The kitten squeezed her eyes and gave a happy purr, "Now they stand a fighting chance."

Rini's smile faltered, "But the Ronins have to pull through this, first."

She turned her small eyes to the window, murmuring, "If you can hear me, please help them if you are able. I know you're around this place, you have to be!"

* * *

Instinct, it had never once let her down before, and again it had proven itself useful. She shot from shadow to shadow, moving as fast as her body would allow, she had no desire to be detected.

That was how she had always operated, alone, by herself it was what she lived and thrived on. She could work in a group when she had to, but for the most part she completed a task better if it were done solo.

The warrior slowed to a halt, grumbling out sarcastically, "We just _had_ to put the mansion in the middle of a field without any trees by it; just because open spaces provide so much cover."

She checked the level of energy around her, finding nothing negative, she sprinted forward, then leapt to the second floor balcony-railing.

Unfortunately, the railing was slippery and it caused her to land on the balcony itself with a slight thud.

"Oh yeah, _that_ was graceful," the Scout stated in annoyance, getting to her feet, "Honestly, I wouldn't have to be here if certain spirits would actually let Kayura do her job. She's the Ronin's guardian; I'm only supposed to have to watch them when she asks me too! Ugh, leave it to the elders to re-write all the rules mid-game."

She didn't know why, but it seemed luck was on her side, the Senshi were currently bickering so loudly they hadn't heard her.

The Scout hesitated a moment, and then tried to open the sliding door only to find it locked.

She quirked a darkened-eyebrow at this, since when was anything locked on this place?

After muttering under her breath vehemently, she put her hand to the lock a small amount of ice forming where the key would go. The Senshi then summoned a bit of fire to her hand causing the ice to melt, getting a satisfying click from the door.

That was one of her favorite tricks, picking locks; she quietly slid the door back and entered the room.

The silence in the room was frightening; the only thing to be heard was the ragged breathing of five battered young men.

Dread and suffering hung like a thick black cloud in this place, and if she weren't so used to this feeling she would've shivered.

As it was, she was quite used to it…Having experienced it on more occasions than she would like to think about.

Immediately she could sense who was in the worst shape, and as she approached the light from her tiara grew more vibrant.

"I get the picture," She grumbled out, laying a hand on the Halo Ronin's shoulder. A few minutes passed before his kanji flared to life, and she withdrew knowing that the Halo armor would finish healing its master.

She repeated this process for each Ronin; it took roughly fifteen minutes for her to be completely done as the light from her tiara subsequently vanished.

Though she had finished healing them, something was nagging her at the back of her mind. Something felt wrong with this, all of it actually; there was no way possible that Kali could've caused this much damage…The ice demonness must've had help from Thanos.

Still, she cast a glance over her shoulder having been prepared to walk out the door, there was a problem here she couldn't see, but it was one she most assuredly felt.

Hopefully it was just her imagination playing tricks on her, she froze as the bedroom door opened, immediately ridiculing herself for not paying attention. She was trained better than that!

Rini halted immediately a smile slowly spreading across her face, and White Blaze sat down on his haunches, letting out a confused-whine.

The Scout understood it as the inquiry it was, and grinned a bit, replying in a soft tone, "Don't believe everything the elders tell you old friend," She then diverted her attention to the small girl and her guardian, "Chibi-Usa, Diana, will you keep this quiet, for me?"

Both child and kitten nodded their heads in agreement, just glad to see her there and to know at least one of the guardians was able to look out for the warriors.

She gave a warm smile, "Thank you," and with nothing further said she slipped out the door, and off the balcony.

* * *

For a moment he wondered why his breathing was so labored, that was when he realized that he was running.

The Halo Ronin could hear his heart pounding in his ears, and felt the adrenaline rushing through his veins.

He slowed only slightly, a single question escaping from his lips, "Where am I?"

A dense fog lay all around him, obscuring his vision and leaving him even more baffled and confused.

Somewhere a voice murmured in mirth, "What's the matter Halo? Do you recall nothing of your past sins?"

"My past what?" Sage asked quietly, slowing to a halt and scanning his surroundings. He tried to locate the source that the voice belonged to, but it was impossible to see through the fog.

Suddenly he realized who it was, and gritted out from behind clenched teeth, "Kali."

She gave a merry chuckle, "Not so dumb after all."

Before he could get a word in edge-wise, a sharp excruciating pain raced throughout his body bringing him to his knees.

At once he recognized it, and closed his eyes tightly, "Not this…Anything but this, please."

He could remember it as though it had occurred just yesterday, the pain he had incurred at Shikaisen's hands, how his armor and he had been used as mere puppets. Even now he could hear the humming of the machines that had kept him bound, still feel the evil trying to overtake him.

He was gasping for breath his soul and body now in pain, then in a moment it was over.

* * *

The Ronin of Halo came reeling back to consciousness, though he immediately started to regret doing so. His body was both stiff and sore, and he couldn't focus just yet. Sage managed to keep his calm, the nightmare he had just experienced still fresh in his mind.

Aurora let out a sigh of relief, teasing lightly, "Sleeping Beauty awakens!"

"What?" The swordsman asked in confusion, now able to completely see.

The Elemental leader chuckled, "Welcome back to the land of the living, slow-poke. Ryo woke up yesterday."

Realization suddenly dawned on him, and he demanded, "How long have I been out?"

The woman was enjoying the chance to ruffle his feathers, and shot in reply, "That's the first thing you ask, not how I am, or how your friends are?"

Here Sage froze, panic and worry in his face, "I made sure I took as much of the blast as possible, don't tell me it didn't work!"

"HA! We knew it!" Rowen declared happily from his bed, "Verbal confession, I rest my case."

"Bravo, Mr. Mason," Kirstin joked, and then said to the dumfounded looks, "Never mind." She made a mental note to clue the guys in on one of her favorite shows at a later date.

It was the Halo Ronin's turn to let out a sigh of relief; his stunt had worked after all.

"I can't believe you and Ryo did that," the Warrior of Strength muttered in complaint, performing a few minor stretches; "And you all think I'm reckless."

The Wildfire Ronin chuckled, having been dozing on and off for most of the day, he was sitting propped up in his bed; "Kento, we don't have to think, we _know_ for a fact."

"All right, settle in you guys," Callista stated in a warning tone; the Ronins that had been awake the longest were still being restricted in their activities. The Sailor Elementals had merely popped in to check-up on them and to make sure said instructions were being followed.

The reason for these orders came after consultation with the medically-inclined people in the house (Ami, Hotaru, and Aurora herself), as well as placing a call to Elayne who was actually working at a hospital.

All four had agreed that any strenuous activity should be put off, and the worst hurt should have at least two to three days bed-rest.

Sage shut his eyes, and then opened them again, noting that his abilities and senses were sluggish.

He tried to sit up, but the Elemental leader would have none of it, "Not so fast; you just woke up after getting hit by a force strong enough to be considered a freight train, you give it an hour. Layne said at least two-days bed rest."

"She also said," here Vanessa sniggered, "That if Ryo tried to stand for more than an hour to have him taken out and shot."

Laughter sprang up, while the Wildfire Ronin hissed out in embarrassment, "Oh shut-up you guys!"

However, the blond swordsman barely managed a chuckle, the dream still weighing heavily on his mind.

A frown quickly formed on Aurora's face, something was wrong and she could just sense it. However, not understanding what it was that she was sensing, she pushed her thoughts aside.

* * *

**Council Clearing; same day**

The same young woman that had been with Elayne at the mall was at her side now; but this time her clothing was more of the old-traditional style. Her kimono was a mixture of light pink and blue pastels and fit to her body-frame quite well.

Her blueish-black hair was down, hanging elegantly about her face, her sharp cobalt-blue eyes looked straight ahead, and her hand was clenched around a staff.

She had spoken her piece, and now was waiting for a response, knowing the one she would get would be the same as it always was.

"Please, just," Queen Serenity began, but didn't get very far with her sentence.

"You have no right to keep Lady Kayura from her duties!" Elayne snapped out, "It's her job to protect the Ronins; they could've been killed because you won't permit her to help!"

The young woman tilted her head relaxing her hold on the staff minimally, surprised how the girl had talked with the spirit. Kayura, for that is who it was, could almost see a bit of Ryo in the girl's temper, but recognized her logical thought pattern as being close to Sage and Rowen's.

How Lady Kayura had come to be in contact with Elayne, (who the elders termed as the 'link') had been mainly at the Ancient One's pressing and mostly due to the crystal's interference.

The wise monk had figured it would be a good idea to at least have contact established between the mortal realm and Nether Realm, because he sensed that soon the former Warlords would become involved in the current problem.

He had broached the matter with Kayura, and had been prepared to speak with Elayne, only to find that the Cimmerian Crystal had beaten him to the punch.

It had been one of the days when Kayura had gone to the Mortal Realm for a shopping trip, and the girl had been there on her lunch break. Because the crystal had affected Elayne's abilities, helping her to pick out auras and those who were 'different' from normal people, it had basically led her straight to Kayura.

Since then the two had been conversing, and quite often; Elayne had also had the privilege (or that's what she considered it) to meet the three former Warlords. She had just conveniently left that bit of information out when talking to the Ronin.

"The thing of it is," a small frown was on Kayura's face, "They shouldn't have survived that, or recovered in the way they seem to be doing right now. Two demons attacked them at once; there is just no possible way…At least, not without outside help."

Elayne paused, mid-rant, and noticed the Ancient and Serenity's reactions to Kayura's small statement; a grin crossed her face, "Ha! I _knew_ it; she's still alive, isn't she?"

"Who's alive?" Lady Kayura asked in confusion.

The two elders remained silent, and Elayne answered smugly, "The Secondary Guardian, Sailor Universe."

The last of the Ancient's did her best not to snort outright, "Of course she's alive. Why wouldn't she be?"

The looks on the spirits faces were a mixture of shock and bewilderment, and Elayne couldn't help but laugh under her breath.

"She was to have no contact with anyone?" Kayura asked, now even more confused than before.

"Well we only told her she could make no contact with anyone in the mortal realm," the Ancient One grumbled out.

Elayne was laughing loud enough for it to be heard now; seeing the odd-looks she was getting, she said, "Boy, I like this character. And the more I learn about her, the more I like her. No contact with the Mortal Realm, so she went to the Nether Realm to keep Kayura and the Warlords informed."

"At least someone did," the Lady Ancient stated a little tersely, offering the two elders a none-too-kind look, "But I'm confused as to why…" She paused not sure how to phrase her question.

"Universe was supposed to have died during a battle in this lifetime," Elayne explained to the young woman, "The other warriors believe she is dead, just based upon her absence and what the elders have told them."

"You are lying to them?" Kayura cried out partially enraged, eyes narrowing at the spirits.

The Ancient One now spoke, "Please understand, the Lady is all we have right now that counts as an advantage. As long as the enemy believes she is dead, you are all much safer."

Kayura gave the snort she'd been holding back, "How so? Seeing as how, you won't let me help the Ronin; considering that is my duty as the new Ancient."

Elayne suddenly felt weak and dizzy, like she had the day the others had been attacked; she sank to her knees vision blurred, the jewel around her neck glowing in and out in a violent matter.

As sudden as it began, it stopped and all in the clearing was quiet, save for the girl's labored breathing.

"What's wrong?" Lady Kayura demanded in alarm, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, only to quickly withdraw it a few seconds later.

She had been pushed away, by what felt like electricity, and yet something akin to fire. A frown was on her face, how could the crystal have power like that in the hands of an innocent?

Elayne shook her head to clear her sight, "It…It does that, when there's something wrong. If one of the warriors is in trouble it glows like that, it's only as of late that it's been knocking me off my feet like this. I don't know why either."

"A warning," Queen Serenity worriedly murmured, exchanging looks with Kaosu, "This means the enemy is aware of the power put into the seal that holds Akemliek."

The monk merely nodded, and then said to Kayura, "Your involvement in this will come soon, but for right now the Nether Realm is where you are most needed."

"But nothing is happening there," Elayne complained for the young woman, "Kali and Thanos don't even know it exists, and probably very few of the Raikken remember where it is! What happens if the Ronin are attacked again?"

"Then Lady Universe will attend to it," Queen Serenity stated in a cool voice, signifying the discussion was over.

Within a moment both spirits were gone, leaving Kayura and Elayne to roll their eyes and mutter, "Morons."

* * *

_A/N: Kayura and the Warlords rock, end of story. And we're finally starting to get to the more interesting parts of Book One. In fact, we're close approaching the half-way point. Enjoy the chapters._

_-LG_


	20. Chapter 19: Halo's Hesitant Stand

**Chapter Nineteen: **

"**Halo's Hesitant Stand"**

Kali let out a chuckle in mirth, as she ran a brush through her ice-blue hair; the plan had worked after all. She had wondered if spells would work on the Ronins and therefore had executed one on the Halo Ronin, during the surprise attack.

Much to her great pleasure, the fool was affected, meaning the Ronin Warriors were just as vulnerable to such spells as the Sailor Senshi.

The Raikken had only a few weeks before learned that in order to reverse the seal that held Akemliek, they needed the power from each warrior's attack. The energy was to be used to power the counter-curse that would thereby remove the seal.

However, the dumb and dawdling demons still had come no closer in finding the words for the spell itself. In fact, the imbeciles had not even been able to find out whether it required words. This was why you couldn't take over the world just by using Raikken, they were _stupid._

Since learning of the energy requirement, Kali and Thanos had been gathering the energy as inconspicuously as possible. They would send out the Raikken in small groups, and capture the necessary power mainly from attacks that had missed.

Yet, even the ice demonness realized that gaining the attack-power from the Ronins would not be as easy a task. The young men only called up the power in emergencies, seeing as how it was such a vast amount of energy. Also, she suspected it might be strenuous to call upon it as well.

Therefore, careful planning was required on her and Thanos parts, but they did have one thing on their side…Time. Being both pure-blooded ice demons, meant that the closer to the winter season it got, the stronger they became. This would make it much harder for the warriors to inflict any kind of damage upon them at all.

Thanos suddenly strode into the room, not bothering to ask for permission to enter.

Kali noticed him immediately, and asked in an aggravated hiss, "Did I say you could come in?"

"No, but I have no time for your foolishness," He replied in a severe tone, "Master says that we should start collecting the energy in a more serious manner now. He has felt something which he does not like, but he would not elaborate as to what that was."

A frown was on her face, as she murmured aloud, "I wonder if it's that Ancient's last descendant? Perhaps the elders have decided to put this guardian on alert."

"Yes, but Master did mention something about her and the other three warriors being somewhere else; a different realm, of some sort," Thanos stopped mid-thought, realizing he was getting off topic, "I am losing myself, forgive me. It is his desire that you continue on with your experiment of how best to take down the warriors."

"Oh I've already found it out," she scoffed idly waving her hand at him, "They must be struck at as individuals, not as individual groups. I was thinking I should start a fight with Halo; my spell seems to be working its charm so he should be rather vulnerable."

"Don't get over confident," Thanos began to warn, only to have her cut him short.

She gave a loud snort, "Do you think me as naïve as a mortal girl? Why do you think I tried the spell on Halo first? I remember all our Master has taught us about them, and understand that he believes them to be far more dangerous in this lifetime. I was merely saying that I have a fair chance considering the Ronin's handicap."

Thanos kept his calm, it was never good to try and loose his temper with his sister, for she could become nastier than a wildcat once you got on her playing field.

To keep her feather's from becoming too ruffled; he decided to inquire, "When will you strike?"

"Certainly not now, maybe in a day or two more," She replied thoughtfully, mulling it over in her head, "I want the spell to have a decent enough hold, so that he won't be able to focus. This way they don't catch on to what we are doing."

"Very well then," Thanos turned on his heel and left the room, leaving Kali to happily plan as to how she was going to take down one of the obstacles in their path.

* * *

"Okay, it's weird, I agreed, are you happy now?" Rei asked in annoyance, giving a slight roll of her eyes.

Serena glared at her friend for a moment, "If you're going to be that way about it," She turned her head, and hollered, "Hey Ryo! Got a minute?"

The Ronin Leader peered out from one of the backrooms, "Yeah. What's up?"

"I was just wondering, have you noticed how strange Sage has been acting lately?" The Moon Princess inquired, a bit nervously, "He seems uhh kinda edgy, ya know?"

Ryo let out a chuckle and walked into the living room, shaking his head he eyed the Fire Senshi, "We've been around each other for a little over a month, and you're still afraid to talk to me?"

A slight blush came over Rei's cheeks, as she hastily said, "No! It's not that, I just didn't want to…er…That is…umm…"

The Wildfire Ronin tried his best to only smile, and not burst out laughing; he had gotten quite used to the Senshi, especially the younger Inners who were as 'boy crazy' as it came, "You all are unreal."

He said this in reference to Lita and Mina who were both trying to act as uninterested as possible, and failing quite miserably.

Rowen was at the kitchen counter reading over a letter that had come for him; he put it down slightly to see the commotion in the other room. He grinned in amusement; leave it to Ryo to be the first one to adjust to having all these girls around.

'_Go figure, the guy that hates social occasions and is uncomfortable in large crowds,' _The archer shook his head, and went back to reading the letter, the smallest of frowns tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"What's wrong?" Kirstin asked in concern, munching on a cookie; she had been around the Strata Ronin enough now to understand what that look meant.

The young man let out a sigh, "It's from my father, seems he finally figured out that I wasn't in college."

The Elemental of Earth nearly choked on her snack, "Geez how slow is this guy? Oh sorry, didn't mean to…Oops."

"It's okay," Rowen chuckled giving a shake of his blue-head in amusement, "He's so busy with work, he rarely checks the mail. Once a month when you're lucky, but once every two tends to be the norm."

"I see," She gave a nod in understanding, "So he's mad, huh?"

"That's just it, he isn't…." the young man paused, and then let out a groan, "I have an idea as to why though."

Kirstin raised an eyebrow at him, and blinked a few times.

He walked into the living room and asked, noting that Rei and Ryo were at a standstill, "Has anyone named 'Genichirou' called here?"

Mina let out a nervous laugh, "Yeah, but you weren't around so I gave it to Elayne cause she was here that day. It probably wasn't such a good idea."

Rowen sighed in exasperation, "I don't think I want to know, but why was it a bad idea?"

"Well he roared at her, so she snapped back. They argued for about fifteen minutes, then went to using English, and then back to Japanese," The blonde gave that nervous laugh again, "She ended the conversation by shouting that you were here helping her out, and that if he had such a problem with it, (and apparently he did by the reaction he gave her) he needed to stop being such an immature child and actually grow up."

The blue-haired archer couldn't help himself, he had to laugh; Ryo quirked an eyebrow at his friend, hoping to get an explanation.

Rowen shook his head, rubbing the pinpoint in-between his eyebrows a smile on his face, "The two of them get along like baking soda and vinegar; it's almost always been that way. I'm not surprised they fought, though they normally keep their fights in private. So it's interesting to note she was arguing with him when so many ears were present."

By 'ears' he was referring to the Inner Senshi, and the girls knew it too, each turning a certain shade of red; except for Ami who was buried thoroughly into the book she was reading. Just because she wasn't in college right this minute, didn't mean she was slacking off.

If Rowen was able to get along with any of the Sailor Scouts, it was her and Michelle, both were very intelligent and held similar interests to that of his own.

Callista was highly intellectual as well, but not as far as the others…Meaning studying wasn't her life. For the most part the Air Senshi had been a normal high-school student; averaging B's only in subjects she was not interested in, and a participant on several of her school's sport-teams.

What did impress him though, was her in-depth knowledge of the stars and the fact it was almost as good as his.

Shouting brought the Strata Ronin out of his zoning trip, and he had to sigh, Serena and Rei were arguing again; Ryo had long-ago given up and walked away from the two.

"I'd like to correct myself," the archer announced, drawing quiet from the five young women, "They get along like you two," he then pointed to Serena and Rei, who shouted in annoyance, "Hey!"

Pleased with himself, Rowen walked off humming a catchy tune, sometimes he just had to irritate them; it was too much fun to pass up.

A frown formed on his face once more though, as he tried to recall the last time he had seen his best friend.

Had it been maybe three or four hours before, and even at that only a glimpse?

The blue-haired archer slowed his walk, more thoughts popping into his head as he continued down the hall. It was safe to say that the swordsman of Halo had definitely changed. The day before Sage had been completely withdrawn and uptight; he had said little and any loud noise had caused him to jump.

Not severely, as in a leap off the ground, but it was noticeable to a point where anyone who really knew the Halo Ronin would know something was wrong. It was in the way the man had been walking, cautiously as though he were being followed or expected to be attacked at any moment.

Truth be told, Strata's bearer was starting to worry more deeply than before. Today, he hadn't thought it quite possible, Sage had been even worse. The archer had barely managed a 'hello' out of his friend.

And now a feeling crossed his sense's which he strongly disliked, causing him to halt completely, midnight-blue eyes narrowing and looking out the nearest window.

A swear escaped from his lips, and within moments he was in sub-armor and out of the house.

* * *

It was impossible, trying to prepare himself for meditation today. The minute he managed to get his breathing slowed and the second he closed his eyes…All he could see was what had happened back in New York.

Sage gave a frustrated sigh; it had taken him a long time to bury those wretched memories and now they were back haunting him once more.

Kali…The swordsman of Halo thought in disgust, somehow the ice demonness had caused all of this. That was the only explanation for what was currently happening to him. Well, it was the only logical thing he could think of, at least.

Suddenly the swordsman was on his feet, rapidly scanning the forest around him. He gave a toss of his blond head, briefly allowing both of his eyes to show permitting him to see more effectively.

He rolled to the side, avoiding the blast of energy that had been discharged in his direction. Without giving it too much thought, he was in his under-gear, a scowl on his handsome face.

"Who's there?" He gritted out, the tone in his voice signifying that whoever was trying to attack him best watch themselves.

A light chuckling reached his ears, sending a shiver up his spine and the rest of his senses on high alert.

In a whirl of smoke, Kali stood before the Halo Ronin a smirk adorning her face.

She eyed him critically her smirk deepening, so the spell was acting according to her calculations; this was good news indeed.

"You," Sage fairly snarled out at her.

The ice demonness took it all in stride, saying coolly, "You do not know your full past, Sage of Halo; therefore, you do not know the extent of your sins."

"Sins?" The swordsman scoffed, tilting his head at her; "Whatever they may be, I am sure they pale in comparison to yours."

Kali gave a laugh, it was devoid of any emotion and chilled him to the core, "Well, you are as spirited as ever, a shame you must die. Yes, sins, Halo. Your arrogance and stubbornness have cost many innocent deaths in the past lives."

Somewhere in the back of his mind, the Ronin of Halo was fighting what was hearing knowing it wasn't true. However the images of his current life, the great hardships he had endured now blocked out all voices of reason, and the young man stood as still as stone.

'_I don't believe how easy this is!' _Kali thought in great amusement.

Sage quickly snapped out of his trance, remembering where he was and who was present, without another thought he called forth his armor; thus, playing right into Kali's hands.

* * *

It was hard to estimate how long they fought for, due to his current state of mind; the normally unrivaled swordsman was equally matched with the ice demonness. Each time she made a movement with her sword, he easily blocked and countered the blow…It was just so hard to completely focus with the images and sounds of the past whirling around in his head.

Kali was more or less leading the Halo Ronin on; she wanted him to fight like this, and the moment he thought he had the sure advantage she would retaliate. The only problem she was having, was trying to wait long enough to implement her plan; patience was not something she was very strong in.

Sage finally managed to get the upper hand, and with a great amount of force, knocked her off-balance. The ice demonness landed with a muffled thud, and winced rubbing her back.

The swordsman paused a brief moment to regain his breath, and then summoned the energy of his armor together, "Thunderbolt Cut!"

Kali narrowed her eyes, and hissed something out in her native tongue which caused the energy heading towards her to vanish. The Ronin of Halo stared on in shock, and then fell to his knees as he felt his strength seep away to be replaced by grief and anguish.

"Enjoying that feeling? It's one of the more severe spells that I know," Kali chuckled in mirth, "Would you like for me to end your suffering?"

She took a step towards him, raising her sword a mere fraction, knowing that no matter what the Halo Ronin tried that he couldn't get himself out of this predicament. With his armor drained, and his mind so cluttered there was no chance of him retaliating.

The blond swordsman was gasping for breath, he felt as though he had been punched in the gut tenfold, his body felt weak and his mind ached as well. Sage let out a low grunt; he couldn't fend her off by himself? How useless and worthless had he become?

Unless one of the other armor bearers had detected Halo's distress it was over; and though all four remaining Ronin were aware something was happening only Rowen had enough of a head start to do any good. But even that was not enough.

"Sage!" Strata's bearer hollered out, sub-armor permitting him to go faster than he normally could.

A scowl was on Rowen's face, he could sense what was happening, and he knew that with as fast as he was going now, that he wouldn't make it in time.

Hearing the yell, Kali hurried to finish her job…She raised her sword and was prepared to bring it down on the Ronin of Halo, but before she could someone kicked her away from her target.

The ice demonness scrambled to pick herself up, eyes darting about the clearing demanding in rage, "Who's there? Who dares to interfere?"

"It is no concern of yours," someone snapped back, by what Sage could tell the person was female…But each word had been emphasized as though the speaker were unsure of how to use the language.

Kali gave a snarl, seeing a shadowed shape she lunged for it, only to be slammed with a punch in her back, causing her to fall forward.

She braced herself against the ground, and rolled narrowly avoiding the follow-up kick the shadowed attacker had planned to give her.

The ice demonness was on her feet now and unable to find where the person was; she vanished, deciding that retreating was her best option. After all, she had caused more than enough damage to the Halo Ronin.

The 'interference' now drew to a halt, turning worried eyes to the Ronin of Halo, crying out as his armor faded away, "Seiji!"

Breathing had become impossible and blocking out the pain too hard for his weakened body; causing him to collapse completely, but he did hear that shout. _'Who is she, how does she know my name?'_

* * *

The warrior kept the shadows around herself to conceal her identity, she had to be careful, no one could see her; it was too soon for that.

She quickly covered the distance then kneeled beside Sage's unconscious form; barely able to detect the armor's power, fear invaded her senses as she realized what had caused this.

"Why…Why would they use such magic? There's no point to it…" A frown framed her face; this latest development unnerved her, to say the least.

The warrior placed a hand on his forehead, transferring some of her energy over to him. His kanji flared for a brief moment, and his breathing steadied, the young women let out a relieved sigh, he hadn't been hurt too gravely. The light from her tiara died down in response.

She nimbly got to her feet scanning the forest as she did so, "I can't just leave him here alone like this. Kali might decide to come back and finish the job."

But there was something else that made her reluctant to leave, once more that nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach was prodding her…There was something else wrong here that she couldn't place; a frown formed on her face, but what was she overlooking?

"Sage!" A voice rang out.

"Touma?" She murmured to herself quietly, the small frown fading into a slight smile, "I can go, you're safe for now."

She walked over to the nearest tree, and leaned against it; the moment the Strata Ronin entered the clearing she vanished.


	21. Chapter 20: The Strike

**Chapter Twenty: **

"**The Strike Against Strata and Torrent"**

"So do you think this 'Lady Kayura' protected him then?" Amara asked a scowl on her face, watching the Inner Senshi go through their practice session.

She was having a 'rare' conversation with the Ronin of Wildfire; the Sailor of Uranus had a thing about men…She tended to hate them with a passion. So to find her talking with the Ronin like this was unusual, but something had unnerved her, and got her to thinking.

"I don't know, Sage says he can't clearly remember what happened after Kali struck him," There was worry and confusion in Ryo's face, apparently his friend's current condition was starting to weigh on him quite heavily, "Somehow I don't think it was her."

"Why not?" Here she was genuinely curious.

A tight frown was on the Wildfire Ronin's face, as he carefully responded, "If it were Kayura she would've contacted me by now, or shown up, or something. I have a feeling that maybe the elders are holding her back, and have been since we defeated Talpa. Or at least the Ancient has been holding her back since then, because for the three issues we had, I couldn't get in touch with her at all. Even now I haven't been able to get through to the Nether Realm, and it should work. She's the one who taught me how to communicate with the realm in the first place!"

'_Could it be possible?'_ Amara wondered idly, _'Could she still be alive? From what I know her function was the same as this Lady Kayura's, except for who they protect. And didn't the elders say they made Universe the Ronins protector as well?'_

"Amara?" Ryo curiously inquired, raising a darkened eyebrow at her.

She blinked coming out of her thoughts, "Sorry, just trying to figure out whom else there could be, and whether or not they are on our side. Just because whoever it is saved your friend doesn't necessarily…"

"Make them a good guy, ya I know," The Ronin leader gave a nod, "But I hope they're on our side."

"Ya," Hearing her name being called the Sailor of Uranus excused herself, "Later, Ryo."

"Same to you," He responded letting out a frustrated sigh; three days had passed since the attack on Sage and in that short time the swordsman had become a stranger to him.

Ryo rubbed the point in-between his eyebrows, he was worrying too much about this it was really getting to him; "I hope this doesn't last too much longer."

Unfortunately, as always things get worse before they get better, and things were about to get much worse.

"Thank goodness the work-day is over," Lita grumbled in complaint, leaving her shoes by the door.

Cye gave a nod of his head in agreement, both had taken up temporary jobs at the Restaurant operated by the Estate…It was far better than lying around the mansion doing nothing.

It had been the Elemental Senshis' suggestion earlier in the month that anyone who couldn't find a job outside the Shinwako grounds could undoubtedly get a paying job at the place. So after searching elsewhere and coming up with nothing, the two had taken on the cooking job.

The Water Ronin figured if he couldn't work with sea-life he might as well cook in the meantime, there would be plenty of time to work in his field later…After things had become steadier in the fight, right now he just couldn't take the chance…None of them could really.

Kento was continuing to manage the restaurant's finances; he found it even easier to do so away from the clutter and noise of his family's home. Darien had never left his job, he had been balancing work and fighting for a long time, that and he was the type of person who took everything in stride.

Rei and Mina emerged from the basement, the Elemental Senshi not far behind them.

"Much better you two," Aurora said in approving tone, "Just keep up with the practices and by next week we can try something else."

"Thank you for your help," Mina chimed brightly; then frowned looking up the stairs, "Do you think the genius club is finished with their session yet?"

"No telling," Kento answered, coming out from what served as the laundry room, "They convened about two hours ago."

The 'genius club' or 'book-worm club' was what the other warriors had taken to calling their resident geniuses and avid researchers (Rowen, Ami, Michelle, and Callista), the four had made it a daily ritually to look through all the information available to them (and even some that wasn't) in order to gather anything useful about the enemy.

So far they hadn't had too much luck, but it was taking them a long time to go through the volumes that were available to them. Not only did the Mogami family have extensive information on myths and things of the like, but Mia had also sent over some of her Grandfather's data, in the hopes to aide the warriors in some small way.

"Looks like they're done," Kirstin commented seeing Ami walk out of the study, followed by the other three.

Rowen let out an irritated sigh, "It's impossible to tell what language that book is in, it's so worn."

"Agreed," Michelle murmured, giving a toss of her head, "But we've managed to narrow it down a little bit more. We've ruled out another fifty books."

"Fifty?" Serena asked, mouth open rather wide, "In two hours, you all have gone through that many volumes!"

Callista blinked, not understanding why the Moon Princess was so surprised about that…They had gone through only a short amount of information or at least the four of them considered it to be poor on their parts.

Mina let out a small laugh, "You all may think of it as just a smidge, but to those of us…"

"That ended up taking every make-up exam in high school, that's something," Lita brought in with a slight smirk.

The Sailor of Venus made a face at her friend, and gave a huff, "That's mean!"

"It's the truth," Rei brought in grabbing Serena and Mina by their arms, "Come on I want to go check on Grandpa already."

Lita shrugged her shoulders and walked after her friends, "We'll be back in an hour or so."

"Bye!" Rowen called out after them, and let out an annoyed sigh, "I wish we could actually read that book. It might be important."

Michelle nodded her head in agreement, "It isn't in any form of Japanese, or English that I know of. We'll have to find a linguist…"

"Call Elayne," Cye said from the kitchen as he put the dishes in the dishwasher away.

The room went quiet, as those remaining stared at him in confusion, to this he rolled his eyes, "She took several other foreign languages at her guardian's prodding. Maybe she can read it?"

"Oh! Good idea, thank you Cye," Ami was a bit embarrassed she hadn't thought of it first, she quickly went to the hall phone, for a bit of privacy to make the call.

"Anyone seen Sage?" The blue-haired archer asked all of a sudden, the thought coming to him.

Cye shook his head to the negative, and the WannaBe's murmured that they hadn't seen him at all today; Michelle had already left the room, probably to find the other Outer Senshi. More likely just to find Amara.

With this response, Rowen quickly jogged back up the stairs, but instead of going to the study he knocked and entered what was serving as the Ronin room. He was relieved to see that his friend was in fact there, but was disturbed as well. This was the third day in the row that Sage had isolated himself in the room…It just wasn't like him at all.

The swordsman of Halo briefly looked up from what he was doing then went right back to it; there was a pencil in his hand and papers strewn around him. He scribbled something down, and then punched a few numbers on the calculator he had with him.

Rowen stared at his friend quizzically, raising a blue-eyebrow, "What are you doing?"

"It's for the dojo; I need to go over the finances and make sure everything is in order," He murmured in reply without pausing in his task, "Grandfather sent it all over, at my request."

"Oh, so you're going to take over as head of the family after all?" The Strata Ronin inquired, though he was trying to hide it worry shown on his face. He just couldn't accept how distant and cold the Warrior of Wisdom had become in these past few days; it was really starting to bother him.

"Perhaps one day; for right now I am helping by doing this," Sage answered making no inquiry as to why his best friend was here.

The archer let out a sigh, opting to go straight for the point, "You going to tell me what's bothering you?"

"There's nothing bothering me," the Halo Ronin answered in a finite tone, as if the archer didn't know what he was talking about.

Rowen slightly bristled at the way the comment was stated, "You know, for someone who hates liars…"

"Don't finish that sentence, Rowen," the swordsman stated in an icy tone of voice, looking up now, abandoning the task he was performing, "If I knew what had happened that night, I would have told you. But I don't, now get out!"

The Ronin of Strata balked, asking in confusion, "What?"

"You heard me, leave," Sage gritted out angrily, eyes narrowing at the man, "I'm tired of you hounding me, now go!"

"All right Sage," Rowen murmured out, "If you want to be an ass, you're entitled." He walked out and slammed the door behind him.

A sigh escaped the archer's lips; it was just as he thought…The swordsman of Halo was becoming an entirely different person. It seemed as though something else was controlling his best friend's actions, but what?

The real answer to that question the Strata Ronin could not even begin to fathom…Nor would he had ever guessed that he would be Kali's next victim.

* * *

"Remind me again, we patrol the forest because?" Rowen asked as he trudged along in his sub-armor.

Cye gave a light shrug of his shoulders, "Kali and the Raikken only seem interested in us and not civilians. Besides those first few fights, the larger portions have been carried out here. The enemy has to have their base of operations nearby."

The archer said nothing in reply to this, merely kicking at a stone with his foot, causing it to bounce off a nearby tree and then land on the ground.

It had been his turn for patrol duty, and the Water Ronin had come along citing the need for fresh air and a decent walk as the reasons.

In truth, the Torrent Ronin had an uneasy feeling, and this had prompted him to come along more so than anything else…He had learned to trust his instincts and when the armor hinted that something was up he tended not to question the warnings given.

Several minutes of silence passed between them, before the Strata Ronin inquired, "What are we going to do about Sage?"

"Dunno," Cye answered a slight frown on his face, "It'd be a tad helpful if we knew what was wrong with him."

"He won't say, even Ryo's tried to coax something out of him," Rowen closed his eyes for a moment, "Earlier he told me to leave, when I began to pry…It just isn't like him to be acting this way. What is the enemy playing at?"

This last part he nearly roared out, startling some birds that had been resting in the trees.

The Ronin of Trust winced slightly, "It is odd, they attacked the Senshi, and then us. There was no definite plan to any of it; it is as though they didn't quite have everything figured out from their end. Everything was done at such random intervals, but now…"

"It's almost as though they're trying to take us out as individuals!" the Strata Ronin whirled and faced his companion, "What if what is happening to Sage is just a test?"

"'Was' a test, if you must know," Kali cheerfully interrupted appearing before them both, a sly grin on her face, "So who wants to become my next casualty?"

"Dream on lady!" Rowen spat out at her.

In moments the two Ronin Warriors were fully armored, quickly slipping over to the offensive, in the hopes to take the demonness by surprise.

"What did you do to our friend?" The Strata Ronin snapped, as he let an arrow fly.

To this action Kali merely jumped over top of him, then slammed her sword into his back; lucky for him the armor prevented the blow from becoming a fatal injury.

She chuckled lightly, "Oh you'll find out soon enough, Strata!"

Cye quickly acted, using his yari to knock her off balance, "What makes you think we're going to let you win?"

"It has nothing to do with winning," Kali gave another chuckle, easily dodging the next several rounds of Rowen's arrows.

The blue-haired archer gritted his teeth, _'She's too fast, we have to slow her down!'_

'_Any suggestions as to how we do that? I'm open to ideas,'_ The Water Ronin responded, sounding slightly aggravated.

* * *

Kali was a bit annoyed that she had to deal with two Ronins, she had only been planning on having to take care of Strata; but it mattered little she could make her plan work on two…It wouldn't be _that_ hard to pull it off.

While the two tried to regain their breath, she hissed something causing the area to darken slightly.

She did a count-down in her head when she got to zero vines sprang up from the ground, and wrapped around her preys' ankles all the way up to their torsos.

Kali gave a gleeful chuckle as the two men struggled, "Careful boys, the more you fight the less chance you've got of getting loose."

Rowen managed to get his hand back to his quiver, grasped an arrow, and then proceeded to summon up his sure-kill, "Arrow Shockwave!"

'_That's two down,'_ Kali thought happily, as she collected the Strata Ronin's energy by using the same spell she had implemented on Halo.

The energy from the attacks was absorbed into the small bracelet that she wore, and then later transferred to containers to be used when the time came to free her master.

There was only one difference, when fighting with the Senshi Kali had only gathered the attack energy and nothing more…However; in the case of the Ronins she was completely draining the armor of its power, Akemliek had told her and Thanos that much more than the weaponry energy would be required from the Ronins.

A small frown was now on her face; did she try and gather Torrent's energy too, or wait for later? No, she could not risk destroying the bracelet, nor could she afford to loose the energy she had just collected. But she was going to have to damage the Torrent Ronin a bit more, that way he wouldn't raise question as to why she had left so suddenly.

"Rowen!" The Ronin of Trust struggled harder against his bonds, having watched what had happened to his friend. Worry rose within him, as he realized that Strata's bearer had fallen unconscious.

Cye glared heatedly at the ice demonness, growling out, "What did you do?"

"Oh it's your turn now, so you can find out," Kali cackled evilly, with a snap of her fingers the vines withdrew, leaving the unconscious Rowen to fall to the ground and the Water Ronin left to fight freely.

She launched herself against him, but the Torrent Ronin was prepared having braced himself for the attack; once having completely regained his balance, he applied force to his yari causing her to nearly topple over.

Kali scrambled to get herself back together in time to take the offensive against the Ronin, which she quickly lost. She was fuming now, the Ronins were definitely better than her when it came to close-combat; she couldn't win playing this game fairly.

She smirked, oh well, there was always cheating, and she happened to be _quite_ the professional at that.

As Cye made move to strike against her, Kali slipped into the growing darkness around them.

The Water Ronin stopped on a dime, sea-green eyes anxiously scanning his surroundings; trying to detect the presence of negative energy was of no use to him, since he understood that this 'darkness' was distorting that perception.

"Where are you?" He demanded loudly, in the hopes that if she commented, he'd be able to locate her by sound alone.

Kali let out a chuckle, as she slammed him in the back, "Behind you!"

Cye spun around, but before his yari connected with her, she gave the low hiss she used for spell-casting; this caused electricity to surge throughout the Ronin's body.

The Warrior of Trust collapsed to his knees, as he tried to fight off the effects of the spell, just when he thought he had lost, the pain stopped all together.

He now tried to calm his aching head; his mind was a muddle, as thoughts and memories flashed before him…He had momentarily forgotten what was going on, and he let out a low groan. Then something clicked in place, he remembered exactly where he was, but…Rowen!

Cye made a vain attempt to call out to his friend, but found he lacked the breath to do so. He grounded his teeth together, a sudden fear over-taking him why had it gone so quiet, and why couldn't he see anything?

"Rowen?" He coughed out, and when he got no response he gained the strength to open his eyes, but quickly closed them from the pain still riddling his body.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and some of his strength leave and then come back…Yet it was stronger somehow.

"Relax, you're injuries aren't too bad. Strata will be fine, he's just out cold right now," a voice murmured softly, it was somewhat worn and her speech was slightly forced; as though it had been a long time since she had employed use of it.

The Ronin of Torrent breathed in deeply, regaining his calm as the pain fully receded; he felt the hand pull away just before he opened his eyes.

A frown framed his face, as he could not see the person who helped him; he asked curiously, "Who are you?"

The warrior jumped out and halted near Rowen's unconscious form, though the shadows were still wrapped about her form. But even with that cover, a dark blue-light could be seen vibrantly flashing, illuminating the silver tiara she was wearing.

The Warrior of Trust was able to discern that there were five jewels in it, four star-shaped, while the center jewel was moon-shaped. What got to him was the fact the stars were colored according to the Ronin armor, green, dark blue, light-sea blue, and orange; the center stone was a mixture of white and red.

The Scout hesitated before responding slowly with, "Right now, who I am is not important. What is important is that you and Touma get out of here before Kali returns."

The Warrior of Trust's eyes widened slightly, she knew Rowen's real name? So either she was an ally, or a foe, but which was she? He stood up the frown deepening, but if she were a foe, why had she helped him?

"Yes, and I know yours too, Mouri Shin," She responded hearing his thoughts, kneeling down and trying to heal the injured Strata a bit better, "And so long as you do not cross my path, I can be an ally. I helped you because you needed it."

Cye somehow wasn't too surprised that she could read minds, "What about Sage?"

The Scout finished doing what she could for the archer, and he noticed that the dark-blue star stopped flowing. She then somehow pulled the sub-armored Ronin to his feet. A frown was on her face, though he could not see it, she didn't recognize the name right away.

"Sage…" The warrior murmured out loud, until she placed it, "Oh Seiji! Yes, I did aide him. I luckily managed to avoid Strata from detecting me, well just barely."

The Torrent Ronin noticed the note of amusement in her voice, but was a bit thrown off as to why she would use their names like she was, "You're someone we know, aren't you?"

The warrior let out a chuckle, "Perhaps, but for right now it is best I remain nothing more than a dream or a figment of your imagination. If the enemy realizes that it is not Kayura helping you, and my identity is revealed too soon; you could be in far more danger than you are right now."

"What, why?" Cye asked in slight alarm, and also in puzzlement.

"The enemy will do anything to obtain their goals. With me around, they'll move twice as fast and hit twice as hard," She replied in a grave voice then said anxiously, "Come on, let's get going, I'll get you two as far as I can."

"Do you want me to take him?" Torrent's bearer inquired, prepared to take his friend off her hands.

She gave a laugh, it sounded like a child's though it was a bit softer than that, "I can most certainly bear Touma for a bit, I used to lug Shuu around just for the fun of it."

Here he couldn't help but grin, "For some odd reason that doesn't surprise me and for another I actually feel like I can trust you."

"I would hope you could trust me," She looked around her nervously, "Come, we need to move. I don't think Kali is quite done."

The Ronin of Torrent also had the same feeling, so he wasted little time in taking the lead in order to serve as protection.

* * *

He should've been protesting this help! A total and complete stranger that was wrapped completely in shadow was aiding them; he knew nothing about her, not her name, her purpose, what she was or whether she was working for someone or doing this of her own accord.

Cye's head should have been screaming at him, that this was a big mistake and it was a perfect trap…However, he knew that she was telling the truth, he had a natural ability, and then of course the armor boosted it, allowing him to see past lies. The Torrent Ronin could also detect nothing evil or negative with her 'presence,' the only thing that bothered him was how much at ease he was with her being there.

Even though he could sense nothing from her, it unnerved him that he was this comfortable with a total stranger that he couldn't even see clearly! But, he knew that voice…That soft and low tone, and that innocent yet care-worn laugh.

"Shin!"

The shout brought him back to reality, and his reflexes moved on automatic in order to avoid the beam of negative energy that Kali had sent his way.

The Torrent Ronin then swung around, using his yari to rip the demonness from her hiding spot in a nearby tree; "Back so soon?"

Kali let out a chuckle in mirth, eyeing the Ronin with a gleam in her eyes of both malice and mischief, "Did you miss me?"

"Loads," Cye snapped in return, quickly engaging her in combat.

The warrior could do nothing but watch as this took place; with the archer being unconscious she could not just place him aside for she detected the presence of Raikken lingering about. Kali would no doubt call on them, the minute the Ronin was defenseless.

But as she continued to watch this match of skill, her blood began to boil over, for the ice demonness was using all the tricks in the book and then some. The minute Cye made an advance; she'd slip back into the shadows and pop out behind him ramming the Torrent Ronin in the back with her sword.

'_His armor can't keep taking such a beating,_' Then something hit the soldier, and she came close to cussing herself out, _'You idiot, why didn't you just do that in the first place?" _

"Strata protect your bearer!'" She commanded softly, as she carefully propped Rowen up against a tree, a blue barrier shimmering around his form.

Hey eyes went back to the fight, and the minute Kali slipped into the shadows, she leapt forward and used a kick to throw the demonness back into Cye's line of sight.

With an opportunity presented to him, the Ronin of Torrent used it to summon and release his special ability; however, he gave Kali exactly what she wanted.

* * *

Once more the bearer of Torrent's head was spinning, and every breath was painful to take. Yet, his mysterious helper was still there for he could still detect her energy.

"You'll be fine in a moment, relax a bit," She said in a re-assuring tone that masked what she was truly feeling. _'They're draining the armors of all power! I must talk with the elders, this is not good news.'_

She removed her hand from his forehead when the kanji appeared, "Better?"

"Yes, thank you," Cye blinked a few times to clear his sight, adding as an afterthought, "Again."

"Can you stand, Shin?" The warrior asked, offering her hand to him.

The young man paused a moment, and frowned slightly noting he could not clearly see her face, but he grasped her hand firmly and hauled himself up.

"Please stop calling me 'Shin' it sounds like you're scolding me. My name is 'Cye.'"

"I can scold if you would like," The soldier chuckled a little, "All right then, Cye. Now let us see if, 'Rowen' will be co-operative in waking up."

She let her gaze rest on the shimmering form and murmured, "Thank-you Tenku-san, the danger is gone for the moment."

In response the shield died away, and she cleared her throat exclaiming in annoyance, "Touma, you lazy mule! Get up!"

"Don't call me that," Rowen grumbled out in response, letting out a grunt. In a minute from him saying this, both his eyes were suddenly wide open, "Cye, what's going on, where am I? And who the heck are _you_?"

The warrior could only helplessly laugh, "Oh too much, he _still_ hasn't changed."

Cye chuckled a little, "He's always been a bad morning-person, ne?"

"Yes," She managed to calm herself rather quickly, but whirled a frown on her face, "Can you two make it back by yourselves?"

Rowen was now on his feet, just a tad wobbly, "I think so, why? And are you ever going to answer my question?"

"I'll leave your questions for Cye to answer, right now I'm being called," She halted a moment or two, "If you are in need of me, please do not hesitate to ask for help. The armors aren't always able to alert me to what is going on, until it's already too late."

She waited for no further response or inquiries; she jumped into a tree and then proceeded to vanish from view.

Cye watched her go, a small frown on his face, when he had grasped her hand before, images had filtered through his head, but he didn't understand any of them.

"Uhh, you gonna clue me in sometime this year?" The Strata Ronin asked, tapping the man on the shoulder.

"Sorry," Torrent's bearer responded, "Let's head back to the mansion, I'll fill you in as we go along."

Rowen didn't even have to think this over, "Good enough for me."

_A/n: Yep, yet another update. Another two chapters for ya'll to read...If anyone is still reading this thing. If so, you should be pleased to know that I am working on Chapter 20 of Book 3, and much of Book 4 is already plotted out. _

_See ya at the next update_

_LG_


	22. Chapter 21: A Picture of the Past

**Chapter Twenty-One: **

"**A Picture of the Past"**

Violet eyes swept over the spirits in front of her, she stood at full attention, not prepared to waver in her resolve. The time had now come, things had become far too dangerous, and that was why she had sought audience with 'all' the elders (not just Serenity and Kaosu who normally got sent to deal with her).

The elders consisted of the former queens of the planets, which also meant that they were the Sailor Senshi's original mothers. In the past lifetimes they had been greatly involved in the happenings going on, but as time had passed they had found it both wiser and safer to let Queen Serenity and Kaosu do all the talking.

The Ronins elders, on the other hand, were not, and would never be, present at these types of meetings. The main factor was due in part that during this lifetime they had wished to be apart of their children's lives, therefore the majority of them were living (old souls in new bodies, just with no memory of the past). The few exceptions that there were…Well, they had little desire to partake in what they considered to be frivolous conferences.

"We are all accounted for," Queen Serenity finally said, looking to the warrior before her.

She gave a brief nod of her head, "We have run out of time and options. The enemy is moving they are aware of the seal."

"We already know this," Someone remarked in boredom, "We understand that."

The warrior bristled slightly, leave it to the Queen of Uranus to make such a statement; _'Then I wonder where Amara gets it from,' _She thought in bitter amusement, saying calmly, "Forgive me, but I don't think you do. The enemy is taking steps to ensure that the seal is dissolved. I am afraid, elders that you are trailing rather far behind them in this deadly game. To my knowledge they already have collected the energy of most of the Senshi, and they have already obtained the full powers of Halo, Torrent, and Strata."

"Are you certain?" The Ancient inquired, worry was present in his voice to the point where she could detect it.

"Yes, when I tried to heal the Ronins I felt an immense drain on my own power. That's not all that troubles me, there is worse occurring," She became silent, a frown on her face.

"Worse, what do you mean by that?" A soft and timid voice inquired.

It was probably the Queen of Mercury that had made the query, to which she easily responded, "Kali is not a low-level ice demonness, she knows plenty of dark spells, and I fear she might have made use of them to do more than just collect energy. I believe she used one of the Forbidden Spells."

Murmurings erupted amongst the spirits as they talked amongst themselves, exchanging nervous glances here and there, the Ancient let out an annoyed sigh and banged the staff against the ground, and everything went silent.

"What leads you to deduct this conclusion?" He asked politely.

She had never once lowered her gaze to them tonight, and for the most part whenever she spoke her head was always bowed, but she had looked on them as that girl might have, "I can sense the presence of foul and old magic very well, and I sensed the aura around them after she attacked and had left the area."

"This doesn't bode well at all," Queen Serenity mumbled nervously, "We're in trouble."

Again murmurings sprung up, and a few arguments came about as well in the span of six minutes, before the warrior spoke up again.

"My elders," She cleared her throat, waited for them to settle, and said, "It can be put off no longer. Lady Kayura and the bearer's of the Seasonal armors must be brought in, and quickly."

"I don't think it's a good idea," Serenity began, only to be cut off.

"Hear me out; if Kali is attempting to do what I know she is then having the Seasonals there will help to counteract the spell until a solution can be found. With the virtues counterparts in the same place it will slow down progression, plus you cannot keep them on the sidelines forever, they are as much a part of this as any of the other chosen."

"But what about the fact, that they are one short?" That was spoken by the Queen of Mars, no doubt about it.

The warrior looked to the monk, inquiring in confusion, "Didn't it work?"

The Ancient One gave a nod of his head, "Yes it did, though I can tell you many we're not happy with it."

"They all know better," She rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Those that bear the elements, or seasons, the ones referred to as the 'chosen' are not governed the same as human mortals. They were warned long ago that if such a case happened, certain actions would follow it."

In this, she was offhandedly referring to the Seasonal of Spring, known to some as the Dark Warlord of Cruelty (Oni Masho), Anubis, who had sacrificed his life in order to free Lady Kayura from Badamon's possession.

It would take a long time to accurately describe the 'certain actions' the warrior was referring to, so to make things easier to follow, all that can be said is thus:

After a few trials and ordeals, Anubis was back among the living thanks in due part to his comrades desire for his return (and their unwillingness to sit idly by and do nothing).

Now up-to-date on that factor, the remaining elders could find nothing to say against the idea, though Queen Serenity voiced the main concern weighing on all their minds.

"My real fear is that the Ronins might not appreciate their former enemy's presence, granted they are the Seasonal bearers and all, but they did work for Talpa."

Once more the warrior bristled, "You cut the Ronin Warriors far too short. You forget the fact that the five of them fought with Talpa, and got an inside look as to what the monster was really like. They know the Seasonals were more or less tricked into being servants. While there will undoubtedly be some tension, the Ronins are not the type of people to hold a severe grudge."

The Ancient One chuckled to himself, very little had changed about the woman standing in front of them she was as fiercely protective and loyal of those she was in charge of now as she had been when she was first assigned to them.

"Anymore objections?" The monk asked, not bothering to hide the note of amusement in his voice; seeing that there were none he spoke, "Good, then I shall contact Lady Kayura immediately. Also, lady if you can?"

"Yes?" She inquired with a thoughtful frown, not sure where this might be going.

He cleared his throat, briefly, "Keep as close an eye on the warriors as you are able, if the tension proves to be too much, try and find a way to douse it."

"That won't be an issue, I already know how to do so," She bowed politely, "If push comes to shove, I'll just plant a thought or two in that girl's head so that she checks in with the warriors. The Cimmerian Crystal has always been able to maintain the peace between the elements' chosen even when I could not."

"Until the next time then, remember stay hidden, unless given permission to do so otherwise," Queen Serenity murmured before vanishing from view.

The Ancient One waited until everyone else had vanished, before speaking to the woman directly, "Lady Universe?"

She looked up, a severe frown on her face now…The elders had been refraining from using her name; for fear that any of the enemy should be about and hear it being used would squeal to Akemliek and then the elders careful planning would be ruined. The Lady of the Universe was their only advantage at this point, and they needed her to remain dead for as long as possible.

"What is it Kaosu?"

"The warriors continue to look for information, but cannot find it; the enemy is ahead of us all, if things continued, the past might repeat itself," He said in a grave sounding tone of voice.

She sharply looked up, eyes sparking at the mere implication of that, "I swore that I would not permit a third occurrence. Are you starting to doubt me after all this time?"

"I am sorry, I did not mean to re-open an old wound," The Ancient shifted his weight slightly, "All I meant, was that they need to find the information they are looking for."

"But the Great Council said…" The Scout began in a soft voice.

He heavily sighed, "I know, but I want you to start giving them hints and make it look as though it is nothing more than coincidence. All responsibility for this shall fall on me, if it is found out that we did aide them."

"If you wish it, then it shall be done," Sailor Universe responded, bowing again, before looking up with a grin, "But, I do believe, that you are stalling from talking with the Lady Kayura."

This gained her the pleasure of hearing the Ancient give an indignant huff of irritation, before he vanished from her sight. Sailor Universe let out a chuckle before slipping into the nearest shadow thereby departing from the clearing.

* * *

It was early morning, an hour or so before breakfast was to be served, and the sun was now starting to filter through the forest, throwing shadowed patterns on the grass. The air was crisp and clean, but there was a slight chill present…It meant winter would soon be upon the land again.

Most people were sleeping at such an hour, the few that were awake were on their way to work, the remaining, like Ryo, were just your typical early risers. Granted, the Wildfire Ronin had no problems sleeping in when he wanted to, sometimes he could compete with Rowen in that department.

Right now the young man was venting his current frustration, on an old oak tree at the back of the house that he had decided to use for sparring. He had wrapped thick rope around the part of the base he intended to use, tight so it would not slip, and not too tight where it would harm the bark. While tree's maybe strong, Ryo would not take a chance to over do it.

He was sometimes teased by the other Ronin about his love of nature, and how he strived so hard to make sure everything and anything he did in no way left an impact on the environment. However, that's not what he was thinking about at this point in time heavier matters were taking precedent making him block out the natural beauty around him which he normally would have stopped to enjoy.

"I swear…" the Ronin leader fumed, as he performed a high-kick, "First Sage won't say a thing, and now Rowen and Cye. What is going on around here?"

He stopped in his furious attack on the tree, feeling an unwanted pain coming from his hands; he looked down and let out a groan, "Oh great."

The Wildfire had not bandaged his hands to protect them from damage, he didn't want to waste time on it, and now it had cost him. His knuckles were scraped and bleeding slightly, he let out another groan; Aurora was going to hang him.

The Elemental Leader was not studying in the medical profession at all, but she had picked up enough knowledge along the way and also was good at bandaging and cleaning wounds. For the most part she tended to look after the Ronins, and it seemed as though she constantly had to treat Ryo.

She had muttered about how right Elayne was in stating the fact that the Ronin leader was reckless, had little care for his own well-being and always tended to over-do things.

'_Oh well, over did it again,'_ Ryo thought, letting out an anguished sigh; he was worried for his friends' well-beings.

There was no rhyme or reason to the enemy's attacks, and then there was the fact that someone else was out there intervening on the Ronins behalf, add it all up and you got stuck with a very concerned Ronin leader.

Granted Cye and Rowen had not mentioned that anyone had helped them during their fight, but Ryo knew his friends, knew them better than any one of them wanted to admit…So he could tell when they were leaving things out, and they most certainly had left something out.

The reason he knew there was outside interference? He had overheard the two talking with Sage, it wasn't purposeful eavesdropping, and the three had been talking when they thought that he and Kento were asleep. Well, Ryo hadn't been sleeping…He just couldn't, there was too much on his mind, and the nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach that things were only going to go more downhill.

"Hey, Ryo," A voice broke in curiously, "You okay man?"

The Wildfire Ronin turned to find the Warrior of Strength watching him with grave concern in his face.

He offered the Hardrock Ronin a weak smile, "I'd be better if I knew what was going on."

"Same here," Kento said in agreement, letting out a sigh through his nose, "I'm not enjoying the fact that Rowen, Cye and Sage are deliberately leaving us out of their loop. Boy do vows of silence annoy me!"

Ryo let out a chuckle, knowing that the Ronin of Hardrock was trying to get him in a more cheerful state, "Ya, they have the tendency to annoy the both of us. Guess that's because we are the doers and not the thinkers."

"Couldn't agree with you more," Kento laughed, saying with a grin, "Just don't let Rowen hear you confess."

The Wildfire Ronin gave a rueful shake of his head, "I won't tell him, if you don't."

"Done deal," Hardrock's bearer replied with a grin, and let out a yawn, "It's seven in the morning and I'm not awake yet. I used to have to get ready by six-forty in order to help out at the Restaurant, all the deliveries were coming in by ten to seven."

"You're getting old like the rest of us Kento," Ryo joked, unable to help himself.

The Ronin of Justice rolled his eyes in amusement, "I'll pretend I didn't hear that. How about we head inside? Anyone and everyone that had to work today are gone already."

"Okay, so long as you tell me what's on your mind," The Wildfire Ronin stated, knowing that Hardrock's bearer wouldn't have come out here unless there was something troubling him.

Kento thought for a moment, used his abilities to see if anyone was around, satisfied that no one was, he murmured, "I have a bad feeling about this Ryo. Something is wrong here; the enemy isn't as disorganized as the Senshi think. They might have been in the beginning, but I can't help but feel that they were only testing the waters biding their time. They've gotten more serious, but I can't understand what exactly they're doing now."

"I don't either, it doesn't make any sense. There's no logical pattern to any of it," Ryo gritted out, clenching his fist subsequently reminding his body that he had hurt it.

Kento saw his friend wince, and chuckled, "Oh you're in for it."

"Heh, don't remind me," The Ronin leader grumbled in complaint, "Come on let's head in."

"Sure," The Hardrock Ronin said in agreement.

The two young men quietly strolled back into the house, easily becoming absorbed in their own thoughts and worries.

* * *

Anyone that was left at home that day, was called into the library…The 'genius club' had managed to find something of interest, only because Universe had spent her time in the study during the dead of night while the occupants of the house were sound asleep. The warrior had planted a book on a shelf which indicated it was the one currently being searched through, and then taken her leave.

Very few of the Senshi were home that day, besides Ami and Michelle and the Elementals, only Lita and Hotaru were still there. Rowen was casually leaning against the wall, having been the one to find the book the Sailor of Mercury was currently poring over.

As the Hardrock and Wildfire Ronin entered the room, the archer slightly shifted his weight, eyeing Cye and Sage who both seemed to be indifferent to their surroundings.

Rowen shrugged and bit back a yawn, saying, "Okay, Ames that's everyone."

The young woman looked up, "As you are aware we've been looking through all the information here, and it's been near impossible to find anything relevant. However, we found this book," She tapped the large volume in front of her, "And it goes into vivid detail about our combined legend, or story if you will, but also our individual stories. However, in the middle of this book is something I think everyone needs to see."

Delicately she turned the pages of the book, and slowly turned it around so the others could see what was across the two pages, that served to separate the first half of the volume from the last half. The background setting was forest-like, ancient and enormous trees, not unlike the ones surrounding the mansion, reached up to a wondrous blue sky dotted with clouds. However what was in the foreground was what really caught one's attention.

It was apparent the painter was extremely talented, having captured the details of the clothing, and facial features perfectly, it was more like looking at a photograph than a painting that's how accurate everything was. But what managed to unnerve them all, and bring Sage out of his trance, was that it was their own faces staring back at them.

They could not have been more than seventeen when this had occurred, and in addition to all of the Sailor Senshi being present was the added fact that the Ronins were with five others.

Cye merely gaped, "Bloody hell! That's not possible!"

"It is," Rowen coolly replied, "I read through the book myself, the ten of us were a team. Don't forget that the original armors weren't from Talpa, and the Scouts' guardian was raised with our guardian, Lady Kayura."

"Then, were they always on our side?" Kento asked eyebrows arched a look of confusion on his face.

The Ronin of Strata nodded, "It's safe to assume they were; something had to have gone wrong in this lifetime."

A frown was on Ryo's face as he thought about it, "The Raikken lent Metallia and Beryl a hand without their knowledge, so it's possible that they also caused enough disruption to aide Talpa in getting his way."

"Who's that?" The Hardrock Ronin asked curiously, pointing out the lone figure in the back.

The young girl was leaning against one of the trees, arms crossed in front of her chest, though her smiling face looked at them. The clothing she wore, was very similar to one of the Senshi's outfits, but the skirt was longer, and the colors much darker. The only thing that was not black, burgundy or purple, was the silver tiara she wore which had five brightly colored jewels embedded in it.

Cye's eyes widened slightly in recognition; she had been the one who helped them the other night?!

Hotaru let out a gasp in disbelief, "That's Universe!"

"You're joking, she looks like a kid," Lita commented with a slight frown, "Then again we started fighting demons at fourteen. Still and all, she looks like she's twelve."

Aurora chuckled a bit, "She always looked younger than she really was; one of the things that worked to her advantage. The enemy saw but a child, and therefore put out half the energy to try and get rid of her, and she would get the upper hand."

"I've checked the volume we had on her, according to it," Michelle paused a moment before reciting from memory, "_'If the warriors of past fail, their true powers must be unveiled before the powers of the Universe can be used. If the moon kingdom falls, and the Sailor Senshi sent through time, the powers of the Universe will only be accessible at nightfall. Until the seal is broken, the full powers shall remain unusable. If the warrior employs the use of them before the breaking of the seal, she risks herself serious harm.'_"

"Which means?" Cye asked, raising an eyebrow.

Michelle gave a small shrug, "Amara thinks that Sailor Universe might be alive still, and is the one giving us aide. If so, she can only transform at night though she can remain in Sailor Form for as long as necessary, and she can use very little of her power as a Scout."

"Wouldn't the elders tell us if she were alive?" Sage inquired, startling some of the people there; his silence had been for so long they had forgotten he was present.

Callista shook her head, "No, because if they did and the enemy realized Lady Universe was alive they would move to more hostile actions. Keep in mind, she was the one to fend Akemliek off after we failed. If they think she's alive she poses a great enough threat to them that they'll take drastic measures."

The Ronins of Halo, Strata and Torrent exchanged glances with one another; while they had not let Ryo or Kento in on what had happened the other night, Cye and Rowen had informed Sage about their mysterious helper, and everything she had told them.

To hear Callista say almost the same exact thing the shadowed warrior had said was enough to convince them; there was a good chance the Scout of the Universe was the one who had intervened in Kali's assault and helped to heal them.

The Torrent Ronin also decided to tell the two of them about the tiara, he had over-looked it when recounting the events before. He made note to fill them in on it later on that evening.

* * *

Ryo cleared his throat now, catching everyone's attention, "I kind of wanted to do this group by group, or at least with everyone in the house…But, I just got done talking with Kayura not that long after breakfast."

"You're kidding, after all this time she contacts you?" Rowen demanded partially annoyed.

"Would you let me finish?" The Wildfire Ronin tried hard not to roll his eyes, "It seems not too long after we got rid of Talpa, the Ancient showed up saying that from there on in, their contact with us was to be limited. It seems the 'Great Council' (Kayura had no clue what that was) had some certain rule or something, that needed to be followed. When we dealt with Mukara, their armors also vanished, and after we helped Suzunagi the Ancient and Queen Serenity filled Kayura and the Warlords in on the past lifetimes."

Vanessa blinked a few times, "Is that it?"

Ryo shook his head, before starting up again, "Kayura was not allowed to help us, and has not been allowed to contact us at all since August. With everything going on lately, the elders had no choice but to cancel the restraining orders," The Wildfire Ronin paused not sure if he should continue.

"Come on Ryo, you're hesitating, there's something else, isn't there?" Kento inquired, arms crossed in front of his chest, giving his leader a stern look.

Wildfire's bearer sheepishly grinned, "Ya, but I don't think you really want to know this. Somehow I know you guys are not going to be happy about it."

"Tell us, how bad could it be?" Rowen carelessly shrugged.

"Okay if you say so," Ryo gave a weak smile, "Kayura and the Warlords will be here sometime after supper."

"What?" The other four Ronins demanded rather loudly.

The Senshi in the room blinked and exchanged glances with one another, they were aware of the Warlords and Kayura and what had happened, sure, but to hear the Ronins react in such a way was just beyond the Sailors comprehension, mainly since nothing seemed to faze the young men. Quickly and quietly the women all evacuated the room, not desiring to see how ugly it would get.

_'I knew that was going to go over well,'_ the Ronin of Wildfire grumbled to himself, "Well Suzunagi, at the request of the Ancient, also created new armor for them, so they can fight without being a hindrance. Look you guys, the book proves the fact that they were involved in this before so it only makes sense they have to be here now."

"They have to stay here, with us?" Kento blinked and after Ryo nodded, he exclaimed, "Us and them, in the same living space! All those who think that will lead to a disaster…"

Rowen, Sage, and Cye shot their hands up before he got a chance to finish the question. The Hardrock Ronin then raised his own hand, "Yup, four to one. You're outnumbered Ryo."

The Ronin leader let out a low groan, _'The things I end up doing,' _Ryo then let out a long sigh through his nose, "Kayura plans to get here after we've gone to bed, that way the Warlords can't…I believe she said, 'misbehave.'"

Sage snorted, "Poor Kayura, she's stuck being a mother to three men older than she is."

"Four," Wildfire's bearer corrected with a small grin.

"Eh, Ryo Anubis is dead," Rowen pointed out, starting to worry about his friend's mental state.

The grin widened considerably, "He _was_ dead; they found a way to get him back. It took some intensive work, but they managed to pull it off."

"Great, at least there will be someone we can all stand," Cye commented a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

"Guys," Ryo stated tartly, "At least make an effort to not be complete morons, I don't expect any of you to get along, and I really don't care if you do or you don't. Just at least try to be civil, all I ask."

Not desiring to listen to any more of his friend's arguments, the Wildfire Ronin turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.

"I think he bought that," Kento remarked with a slight grin, to the other three.

Rowen let out a chuckle, saying with a smirk, "Our acting has improved, but I don't think Ryo appreciated our talent."

"Just keep Cale _far away_ from me," Sage remarked, opening his eyes, "Otherwise we might have a body to burry."

Cye chuckled, uncrossing his arms, "I think it's safe to state we all need to stay from our rivals, more so for the sanity of leader than anything else."

The other three Ronin thought this over for a few moments, and then all remarked at once, "What sanity?"

The Water Ronin rolled his eyes; things truly would never change would they?


	23. Chpt 22: November 1996:Change of Seasons

_**November 1996:**_

**Chapter Twenty-Two: **

"**The Change of the Seasons"**

The sky outside of the Shinwako mansion was slowly fading from gray to the navy blue of night, though there was no sign of the stars or the moon. The scent of rain hung in the air, which was the cause for her to walk even faster to the mansion.

She fumbled with the door a bit, trying to balance the weight of the box in one hand and open the door with the other. After a bit of maneuvering she managed to pull it off, quickly slipping inside and shutting the door by leaning against it.

"Minna," She called as cheerful as possible, kicking off her shoes before moving any further into the house, "Tadaima!"

A small frown formed Elayne's face, _'Weird, Ness said someone would be here.'_

She put down the large box she was carrying, calling out again, "Minna?" Still no response was made, and she turned worried eyes to the nearest window, the crystal glowed slightly.

"So, they're out fighting, but still and all, the cats should be here," Elayne let out a low groan; it was just not her week. She began searching the house in sections, finally coming across the three bodies of fur in the dinning room.

Luna and Artemis were engaged in deep conversation, while Diana merely watched them banter, giving an idle flick of her tail, looking up once she saw Elayne.

"Luna, all I am saying is that she isn't going to like it," the white cat finished, in a tone of confidence.

"Who won't like what?" The girl inquired from behind him, raising a dark eyebrow.

Artemis promptly fell off the chair he had been sitting on, "Elayne!" A look of fear crossed his face, before he fixed it and said, albeit nervously, "Nice to see you!"

"Uh huh," she wasn't buying the act, nor was she buying much of the falsehoods she'd been getting for the past week and a half, something was up and she had a certain hunch as to what it was.

Elayne thought a minute, "Everyone out fighting again?"

"Yes," Luna replied regarding the human in front of her, "You seem slightly surprised."

"Well I am, Vanessa called last night an hour or two after a battle," the girl then gave a half-hearted smile, "Brought the medical supplies as requested."

"Why not just have someone come get it?" The white cat seemed edgy, worried about her presence in the house, but she planned to play the right cards and made no mention of it.

"Ami said she had another book for me to look at," Elayne shrugged her shoulders, saying only to get a reaction, "I haven't seen you all in three weeks. But, I guess you really don't want me here; just judging by your reaction, of course."

"It's not that!" A horrified Artemis protested, mortified that she had taken this so seriously. What he didn't know was that she was playing him.

"But you said," the lilac kitten began, before Luna clamped a paw over the little one's mouth.

The white cat laughed nervously, "Diana meant,…"

The girl quickly waved him off, "I don't want to know. You all are weird, even by _my_ standards."

She went back into the living room, carefully picking up the loaded box, and walked over to what served as the medicine cabinet. Granted it may seem a bit odd to have one's medical supplies in a closet in the living room, but next to the dining room that was the only place in the house big enough to fit all the warriors at once.

Elayne slowly slid back the box lid with her one hand, while opening the closet door with her other; she looked over the shelves, and then began to put the newer supplies behind the older. The cats had followed her, and observed as she sorted the objects all the while humming to herself.

When Elayne got to the bandages, she chuckled and shook her head in amusement; hoping the cats would take the bait, and they did.

"People might believe your going insane if you keep laughing to yourself like that," Luna pointed out, flicking her tail back and forth.

Elayne snorted back a laugh, "If people knew that I practically grew up around teenagers that went around fighting demons dressed in mini-skirts, or magical suits of armor, they would think I was crazy. If they found out I was still friends with said teenagers, who are now adults, they would think I was insane. Better yet, if they realized I was talking with cats and the cats were answering me back in plain simple Japanese, they'd have me committed and then sign the papers for themselves."

Artemis chuckled, he couldn't argue with that kind of logic, and apparently, neither could Luna, who merely huffed and settled into a ball on the floor.

"Can I ask what you are laughing about?" Diana inquired, true curiosity in her voice, completely uninvolved with the adults plans to keep Elayne 'out-of-the-loop' as they had termed it.

"Well I just can't believe how many bandages I had to bring, someone is getting klutzy in battle," Elayne then said coolly, "I mean it's either that, or more people are in the house. But it's not like minna invited other people here."

Luna and Artemis exchanged bewildered glances, if they weren't so used to this happening they would've been blown away, but the fact was whenever the Scouts had tried to plan things behind the girl's back, she always knew they were up to something.

The girl turned around, crossing her arms in front of her chest, "I'm right, aren't I?"

"Possibly," Artemis squeaked out nervously, and seeing the angry look said hastily, "Yes, um…No one wanted to tell you since they figured that you would get mad."

"It was a good guess," Elayne snapped in aggravation, she despised when the warriors deliberately hid things from her, it made her feel they did not trust her as much as she trusted them, "Does anyone realize that if the Trustees figure out I'm hosting more people, they'll figure out a way to kick me out? I had to pull strings, and beg to get the Senshi and Ronins here in the first place!"

"You're not hosting these, though," Luna spoke in with a small grin, "Lindsay is."

Elayne's jaw almost unhinged itself and clattered to the floor, "What? You're kidding."

"Heh, no. I don't suppose you want to know who was invited, do you?" The white cat weakly queried.

"Are you going to tell me?" Elayne's eyes narrowed considerably; oh this just made her bad week even worse. Then again, if she didn't have bad luck, she probably wouldn't have any.

Artemis winced at the tone, and slowly backed up out of her reach, just in case she made a grab for him.

However at that precise moment the door opened, subsequently letting Artemis off the hook while placing the warriors in the direct line of fire.

* * *

Rei came to a dead halt, though Elayne wasn't facing the doorway, it was easy to tell she was steaming, "Oh, hi Elayne."

"Don't any of you 'hi' me," the girl grumbled coldly, turning around to glower at them, surprised to only see the Senshi present. The anger slowly subsided to worry as she saw that some of the warriors had sustained injuries.

Elayne let out a groan, turning her eyes heavenward as if asking that she could remain angry a bit longer, and let out a low growl before looking back to the warriors.

Her shoulder's slightly slumped in defeat, as she pulled out the bandages. "Heads up," she grumbled and then tossed them over her shoulder.

"Where are the Ronins?" Elayne inquired after several minutes of silence; they should have come in by now.

Mina let out a nervous laugh, "They were only a few feet behind us, they're coming."

"Good, they better hurry up," the girl complained, "I want to grill you all at once."

"Grill us?" Callista asked slightly perplexed, "What for?"

"Take a guess," she retorted icily, a scowl having settled on her face.

Not to her surprise, everyone stopped what they were doing to glare at Artemis, who in response let out a low moan.

Ryo opened the door entering the house the same time as White Blaze did, rolling his eyes at the heated banter taking place behind him. He was starting to regret waking up that morning, and when he saw Elayne tending to the Sailor of Uranus, the Wildfire Ronin started wishing he was millions of miles away.

The others filtered in behind him the bickering subsiding, and they too hesitated; each had a nagging suspicion that this wasn't going to be pretty.

Though her back was to them, she had heard the shuffling of feet, and inquired, "What, you took the scenic route back?"

"Heya mei mei," the Warrior of Strength warmly greeted, hoping to try and diffuse her at least a little.

"Save it Hardhead," the girl commented knowing he was trying to calm her down. She then queried in strictly a business-like manner, "Any injuries?"

Ryo looked around at his comrades, and seeing as how only shrugs and shakes of the head were given said, "Uh, no I think we're good."

"Great," she put the finishing touches on Amara's bandage, stood up and turned to face them saying, "That means I can hurt you, and not feel the least bit guilty about it."

"What?" Rowen blinked in confusion, not sure what this was all about.

"Artemis squealed on us," Mina stated glowering at the cat.

Elayne's eyes narrowed, "I took an educated guess, and all he did was confirm it. Contrary to your popular belief, I am _NOT_ stupid!"

They all winced at the sharp tone she had taken, and also the anger and annoyance in it.

"It takes a lot of nerve," she seethed to herself, demanding abruptly, "Are you all purposefully trying to get me thrown of _my_ own property?"

Lindsay gave a sweet fallacious smile, "Don't worry Layne, the people are here under my invite."

The girl snorted back a laugh, "Ya, and I would love to know who bribed you and with what. You don't do things unless it's beneficial to you. I don't have a problem with anyone being here under _your_ invite."

Elayne narrowed her eyes further, "What I have a problem with is being lied to. Sorry, but hiding the fact you invited people here without my knowledge or permission, and telling me nothing was going on when I asked, is lying."

"Calm down, there's no need to…," Aurora began, immediately backing off when the girl growled at her.

"You four," Elayne eyed the Sailor Elementals, fury in her voice, "Should know better than anyone else that I have to know who is here and who isn't at all times. You're well aware of the rules I have to follow in order to keep the Trustees happy and off my back!"

"Why don't you just fire them?" Cye offered casually, finding that maybe he and the other Ronin should get involved in the conversation; at least, before the distraught girl killed one of the Scouts.

Elayne turned her gaze to the Ronins, the anger in her eyes not once flickering to show it was subsiding, "I can't its part of the compromise I had to make in order to get them to accept their contracts; which don't expire till next year. I don't believe you, any of you! I have always trusted you beyond comprehension, and you can't be bothered to trust me at least a fraction of that? You all better have a really good reason for this one."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, and scowled adding as an after thought, "And it better be a team of researchers you trust, because I really doubt you managed to magically produce another set of warriors out of thin air."

"You didn't tell her?" Michelle incredulously asked the white cat.

The question was so perfectly timed, that Elayne failed to hear the chuckles that had come to her statement. Leaning casually against the back wall, where the light could not reach, rested the four Seasonal Warriors and the Lady Kayura. All five were watching the scene playing out before them with mild interest and quite a good deal of amusement.

It was amusing in the sense that the smallest person in the house was standing up to people several inches taller than she. Add to the fact she looked prepare to physically fight anyone and everyone, well that made it even more humorous to them.

'_If Talpa were alive and could see this,'_ Cale thought to himself with a smirk.

Dais finished rather smugly, _'He'd be laughing so hard, his mask would probably fall off.'_

'_Agreed,'_ Sekhmet chimed in grinning, _'To think the Ronins would stand there and take that.'_

'_I kind of think they deserve it,'_ Kayura remarked but did not elaborate.

Anubis merely watched all of this, wondering how long it would take the girl to figure out they were there.

"Uh…well no," Artemis nervously replied, wanting nothing more than to melt into the floor and fade from sight.

"Why not?" Ryo asked the cat with a frown.

"That's something else I want to know," Elayne commented darkly.

"It's just…well…," Artemis let out a nervous laugh, "Elayne's so menacing when she's mad."

"_WHAT!?"_ the girl angrily sputtered, "Why you…Come here fur ball! Flea bath time!"

"Iyek!" Artemis yowled dodging from her grasp, and then kicked it into over-drive once she gave chase.

Though Sage had been trying to ignore most of the conversation, he had heard the latter comments, "She's proving the point."

"You're dead Artemis," Elayne snapped as she continued to follow close behind the animal.

"But it's true, everyone agrees with me!" the cat retorted, huffing and puffing as he continued to scramble along.

* * *

When the cat jumped over White Blaze, the tiger lifted his head not quite sure if he should move or stay put, he decided to move and got up. Everyone in the house closed their eyes knowing a collision was imminent; there was no way Elayne could stop in time.

Instead of trying to stop, the girl went faster and then leapt up and over the tiger, landing in a kneeling position, "Are you _trying_ to kill me, Blaze?"

Artemis was on the sofa and paused, noting how the tiger had backed away upon hearing the note of irritation in the girl's voice; "See even he's afraid of you!"

She was back on her feet only a few inches from the sofa fully prepared to throttle the feline, when a musical laugh filled the room.

Kayura had been trying to hold it in the entire time, but could do so no longer the scene was just too funny for words!

Elayne frowned looking over to where the noise had come from, slightly surprised to see five people lounging against the wall. Dais offered a shrug of his shoulders after watching Kayura for a moment; Cale on the other hand rolled his eyes at the commotion. Anubis offered a small grin, while Sekhmet gave her acknowledgement by slightly waving his hand.

The girl smirked inwardly before screeching, _**"ARTEMIS!"**_

The poor cat jumped straight up in the air fur completely puffed out, and Elayne quickly snatched him by the scruff of his neck; this only caused poor Kayura to laugh harder.

"You flea bag, you should have just said it was Kayura-tachi, moron!" She let go of the cat, and the minute the animal landed on the floor he shot off like a beam of light.

Cale chuckled deep in his throat at the looks of shock and astonishment on the Ronins faces, apparently they were not aware that Elayne had been in contact with Kayura and thus the former Warlords as well.

The girl gave a polite bow of respect, before saying, "Good evening, minna-san! Are you well?"

"We're fine," Kayura gave the girl a wink, "You don't have to be formal it's completely wasted on them." She motioned to the men beside her as she said this, who glowered in response.

Elayne grinned a bit, "I keep forgetting that!"

However, before the men could make a smart response, the Ronin of Wildfire said in annoyance to her, "You lied!"

"Huh?" Elayne slightly turned her body, that way she could look at the Wildfire's bearer without earning a crimp in her neck; she could also see the irritation in the other fours' faces.

"I asked you if you knew these five," Ryo motioned to Kayura and the former Warlords, and finished the sentence saying darkly, "You said you didn't."

"You're the one who's lying," the girl icily retorted, eyes narrowing at the five Ronin Warriors, "If you all remember correctly, I never answered that question. All I did tell you was that I knew _about_ them. Big difference Einsteins."

It just was just one of those days for the Lady Ancient; she succumbed to her laughter yet again.

Sekhmet could only blink; this was the first time in months that Kayura had been so cheerful. The goings-on in the Nether Realm, the restrictions preventing her from aiding the Ronin, it had all worn heavily on the Lady Ancient's nerves to the point where she rarely smiled or laughed about anything.

Finally impatience got the better of him; "I don't get it!" The Fall Seasonal complained, "How come when I try to get her to laugh, it doesn't work; and you are not even trying and she's near to hyperventilating?"

Elayne walked over to him and sympathetically pat his shoulder, "That's because I'm actually funny, and you're not."

Cale snickered loudly at this unable to help himself, thus earning the glare Sekhmet had been prepared to use on the girl.

The teenager gave the chortling Winter Seasonal a look, "I wouldn't be laughing if I were you. Sekhmet's sense of humor sucks, but at least _he_ has one."

Needless to say the former Warlord of Darkness immediately stopped chortling, and found himself unable to come up with a retort for what she had said; the bluntness and the coolness of the statement had left him speechless.

Kayura was not the only one laughing at the priceless look on Cale's face, Dais and Anubis were laughing just as hard if not harder.

Elayne merely chuckled, exchanging a quick high-five with the Seasonal of Summer, after he had managed to get a hold on his laughter.

She then turned her attention to the last member of the group, frowning slightly; she walked over slowly and once in front of him, poked Anubis in the stomach.

The Seasonal of Spring jumped back a bit, and blinked at her, "What was that for?"

"Just making sure you were opaque now," the girl said with a shrug, quickly grinning, "Whenever we spoke before, you were translucent."

Anubis let out a light chuckle, "Yes, that is true. But as you can tell, I am very much alive."

"The Ancient said you were, but I try and take everything the elders say with a grain of salt," Elayne said, quickly shooting a glance around the room, "They have this _nasty _habit of only telling you what they want you to hear, and keep the better part of the truth to themselves. Not unlike _certain people_, who shall remain nameless," She glanced around once more, before looking back at Anubis, "That are standing in this room right now, and if it weren't for the fact these people actually have to save the universe I would definitely kill them all in the most horribly painful way possible."

Cale laughed deep in his throat, "You're a rather odd mortal, quite violent."

"I'm _not_ violent," the girl protested, "Just temperamental, there's a difference."

Kayura shook her head in amusement, noticing that most of the Senshi had vanished into thin air after Elayne's statement; apparently they took the threat rather seriously.

Ami cleared her throat, "Elayne, do you want to take a look at the book?"

"How about I come back tomorrow, I'm not in the correct frame of mind, and I might end up misinterpreting things," the girl grumbled, adding, "Besides if I don't get back to the Estate someone will be calling here to breathe down my neck."

"I don't think you'll be going very far," Darien commented having come in from outside, Rini beside him, "It's pouring out."

"That's fine, so long as it's not…" She closed her mouth hearing the detestable noise, "You're kidding, a thunderstorm? Great my week just went from sucky, to worse."

Cale started chuckling at her apparent distress, to which the girl shot him an ugly look.

"Kayura? Could you possibly strangle him for me?"

"Sure!" The Lady Ancient happily chirped, "I'll wait till there are no witnesses, of course."

The Winter Seasonal gulped, and went back to being dead silent.

"I don't believe this!" Elayne wailed, as lightning flashed in the distance, "I'm stuck here with these guys? Ugh, does it get any worse than this?"

"Hey!" Kento complained, having been quite silent through the whole 'altercation' (if you could call it that), "Why have we become the enemy?"

"It's not you I am referring to, Kento," The girl rolled her eyes; "I am referring to the vast majority of people located on the premises."

"We in the majority, or the minority?" Rowen spoke up, opening an eye to look at her.

She scowled crossing her arms in front of her chest, "Depends on how long you guys actually planned on keeping Kayura-tachi a secret from me, and whether _that_ bright idea was yours', or the Senshi's."

"The girls thought it'd be better if you didn't have something else to worry about," Ryo lightly shrugged his shoulders.

"We were going to tell you eventually though," Cye spoke, trying to hold back a yawn, but failing miserably.

* * *

A thoughtful frown was on her face as she unexpectedly inquired, "Are you guys okay?"

"Huh?" Kento blinked in confusion, here a minute ago she was about ready to kill them, and now she was asking if they were all right?

"Hormonal much?" The Ronin of Halo commented he had been leaning against the wall, eyes closed ever since he had come back into the house.

Rowen snickered slightly, "Ya that 'time' of month."

"If it were that time of month," the girl stated nastily, "I would've introduced you to a certain method called _'castration'_ smart asses." Then she huffed in exasperation, "Cut it out guys, I'm being serious!"

Cye raised an eyebrow, "Hold on, what brought this inquiry about so quickly?"

"I wasn't sure before, but now that the living room is almost vacant I can definitely sense something is off," the girl responded slowly. "I thought it might be you 'cause no offence but, you guys look horrible."

It was true, granted one had to look very hard to see that something was amiss, but with the fact that she was in a medical profession prone to looking for tale-tell signs of issues, she could see something was wrong all too-well.

There were slight rings under Sage's eyes, and his entire body posture was off; instead of him carrying his body in his usual confident proud way it was rather deflated.

Cye seemed lethargic and tense to a point, but whatever was wrong with him, he was hiding it very well from everyone, including himself.

Rowen on the other hand, seemed aggravated and coolly detached from his surroundings, then again all three seemed to be unconcerned with what was occurring around them.

Ryo and Kento were both exhausted, she could see it, and most assuredly sense it. There was something else though, something that hung heavily in the air, but just out of reach of her weaker empathetic abilities.

Elayne frowned now noting that the five had become rather quiet and submerged in their thoughts; she asked anxiously, "Oniichans?"

Sage came out of his stupor, letting out a chuckle; he walked over and placed a hand on her head.

The girl blinked up at him in confusion, not sure what he found so amusing.

The Ronin of Halo chuckled again, slightly stirring her hair, "You don't have to worry about us, imouto we're fine just tired. At least when we were fighting with Talpa, it was during break so we had nothing else to do."

Rowen nodded in agreement, saying with his trademark smirk, "These guys aren't as considerate."

"Agreed," Cye said rolling his eyes, "At least they strike after we finish working and not during though. Then we'd have to explain that to our bosses."

Sage gave the girl a final pat on her head, before ascending the stairs with the other two.

Kento yawned a little, "Ya it is tiring, and the battles have been constant too, we're okay though."

Elayne heard the door shut from upstairs, and sadly murmured, "You're lying. Isn't that right Ryo?" She turned hazel-violet eyes on the Warrior of Virtue, knowing that out of all five Ronins, he and Cye were the most incapable of lying. That explained why the Ronin of Torrent had avoided answering her question, and answered Rowen's instead.

Ryo sighed heavily, "I don't know. Something's up with those three, but I don't know what. It could be nothing more than stress."

"Stress wouldn't cause this; stress wouldn't be causing you and Kento to feel tired through the armor bond, it would make you feel edgy or panicked," Elayne stated eyeing the two, "And don't ask, because any idiot can see you two are worn out and you two are perfectly healthy and probably aren't showing any of the signs those three are."

"What might those signs be?" Anubis inquired clearing his throat, in order to remind her that they were still there.

"I'll let you know in one minute, after I confirm them 'cause I have a hunch;" Elayne responded asking quickly of the two remaining Ronin, "Have you two noticed anything odd about them? Like any lack of interest in things they are into? Are their sleeping habits off, perhaps disrupted sleep or waking early? Has their temperaments changed, are they having you know, 'mood swings'?"

"Yes to all of those," Kento answered nodding avidly, "Sage has stopped meditating, Cye's staying up as long, if not longer than Rowen, and Rowen has been getting up really early and been extremely nasty."

"And the three of them can't focus on anything for very long, if that means anything," Ryo offered up quietly.

"Add in the fact they are fatigued too," Elayne murmured shaking her head, eyes wide in disbelief, "That just doesn't make sense!"

"What?" Cale asked interested in this discussion.

The girl shook her head again, "They have clinical signs of depression, that's what doesn't make sense."

"Are you serious?" Kento gaped, blinking hard, "You've got to be joking!"

"Hmmm," Kayura murmured thinking it over, a frown tugged at the corners of her mouth, "Kento, Ryo how long have they been acting like this?"

"Sage started acting differently maybe a day or so after that huge ambush Kali launched against us," Ryo responded, carefully thinking it all through, "Then Cye and Rowen started behaving strange, a day or so after they had gone out on patrol."

"The two of us figure," Hardrock's bearer brought in, "That they got attacked by Kali, and just didn't want to talk about it."

"A spell maybe?" Kayura turned to look at the Winter Seasonal, who had some knowledge of how sorcery worked, it having been one of his favorite areas of study.

"Perhaps," Cale was frowning deeply, "It might be one of the older spells, possibly a Forbidden."

"According to what the elders told you," Ryo said looking at the Lady Ancient intently, "They said that Kali managed to 'drain' the armors."

"Yes," Dais thoughtfully remarked, "And with the armors drained as they were, they couldn't protect their bearers from anything, let alone a Forbidden Spell. Once inflicted you need a counter-spell to undo the damage. Cale perhaps you and I should make a stop at the Dynasty later?"

The other man nodded in agreement, "Yes, we shall. Talpa had every dark magic book and scroll known to man and demon; it will just take time to go through it all."

"Get what you need and bring it back here," Kayura told the two, "That way if any battles occur you can still be of aide, plus you won't have to explain why you disappeared for two months on end. For that might be how long it takes to find an answer."

"Somehow," Elayne murmured wearily, a faraway look in her eyes, "I don't think they have that long."

The Ronin of Wildfire stared at her hard, then immediately saw that the jewel around her neck was glowing, and that's when instinct told him to move closer to her. His instincts very rarely tended to be proven wrong, and he wasn't about to start going back on them now.

* * *

It was a good thing Ryo had listened to his gut feeling, since he managed to catch the girl before she completely blacked out; had he not, she would've more than likely ended up banging her head against the table, or the hard wood floor.

Ryo blinked in confusion, as he slowly went into a kneeling position, gently lowering the limp form to the floor, "What just happened?"

Kento had been momentarily taken aback, but slowly came out of his shock, evaluating the Seasonals' reactions, "I don't know, but I think Kayura does."

The Hardrock Ronin said this because while the Lady Ancient seemed gravely concerned, she did not appear to be all that surprised.

"Oh my," the woman murmured nervously, quickly walking over, prepared to see if any physical healing was in order.

Elayne let out a low groan, and opened her eyes with some effort, "Mmm, please tell me I didn't hit my head against the floor."

Wildfire's bearer nervously chuckled, "Ah, no I caught you."

"Well, I guess it's better than the alternative," she commented, though she appeared slightly annoyed that Ryo had been the one to catch her.

Kento let out a small laugh, "And here I was about to ask if you were all right, but I don't have to since your sarcasm is intact."

Kayura quickly prevented a bickering match from ensuing by asking, "I take it that's why you think time is running out? It's been happening more often and more severely, correct?"

"Ya," Elayne sighed a little, "That's actually why I'm off from the hospital. They put me on 'extended sick leave' because I kept passing out on the job, but they couldn't find anything wrong with me. Luckily, the crystal was kind and only acted up while I was going to and from things, and not in the middle of; however, after slamming my head against the concrete floor for the millionth time I ended up with a concussion. That's when they decided I really needed to go home, and get some rest before I ended up cracking my skull open. Not like I haven't done that one before."

"This only means the matter is far worse than the elders believed," Anubis commented stroking his chin in thought.

"Great, but what does that have to do with the heirloom being on the fritz?" Kento demanded abruptly. The Hardrock Ronin was already upset over his friends being in their current state, but the added fact that someone he considered family was also being affected by it did not sit well with him in the least.

The four men exchanged baffled looks with one another, before looking to Kayura for guidance. The woman's lips were pursed as she tried to come up with some sort of explanation for the distressed Warrior of Strength.

Elayne yawned a bit, replying, "It's always been like this. The crystal doesn't seem to enjoy when the planet is in danger. It acted up when the Senshi's adversaries were present, and the same thing for yours. It just never knocked me unconscious before, might because things are more serious now. Who knows? Stupid thing has a mind of its own."

As if listening to the statement, the Cimmerian crystal immediately stopped glowing and chimed twice before falling silent.

Ryo gently helped the girl to her feet, and was a bit surprised as she leaned against him for support, _'Wore you out did it?'_

'_I was tired long before the crystal decided to stick its two cents in,'_ Elayne scoffed in response to the inquiry.

"We'll head out now, we should be back in an hour or so," Dais said before he and Cale bowed in respect. The two then made their way to the door, pausing as the girl called out to them.

"Hey! You don't have to be formal here," Elayne said with a smirk, borrowing Kayura's line and modifying it, "It's wasted on this house's inhabitants."

The two men chuckled and exited the safety of the house walking into the storm that raged outside.

"Come on let me escort you to your room, before you black out again," The Wildfire Ronin commented, trying not to chuckle.

Elayne glowered at him, "Watch it, I _know_ where you sleep and also know that you're twice as hard to wake as Rowen."

"Mei mei," the Ronin of Hardrock chided with a grin, "Are you making threats again?"

The girl looked at him in shock, "Of course not! I'm merely making a promise that I will have no problem in keeping."

"Okay you, bed," Ryo said sternly as he gave a firm tug on her arm, "No arguments."

Elayne let out a strangled sigh, saying sarcastically, "Yes Mother Ryo, whatever you _say_ Mother Ryo."

Kento burst out laughing at the look on his friend's face; Sekhmet didn't bother to hide his amusement either he was laughing just as heavily as Hardrock. Kayura was sniggering something fierce, and Anubis merely chuckled shaking his head.

Ryo glared at the girl in annoyance, one day he was going to strangle her, one day _soon_ if she kept it up.

* * *

_A/n: Huzzah for another update. It is with great pleasure I announce that I have finished Book 3. I've been working on the series since 04, and just finished two books within a year (hopefully it will be more, eh?). Say hello to the former Warlords, now called Seasonals. Out of all the characters, they are my favorites to work with because. Plus, Kayura rocks. And yes I do know that the signs of depression vary from person to person, and there are more symptoms depending on the form and depth of the depression. I actually do research before using something in the story. _

_1 Japanese: Tadaima I'm back/home_

_2 Kayura-tachi tachi is used to denote people with the person stated, so in this case it means: Kayura and everyone with her_


	24. Chapter 23 Reflections on Times Past

**Chapter Twenty-Three:**

"**Reflections on Time Past"**

Cale stifled a yawn, noting that it had to be midnight about now; the snores from around the room that he shared with the other Seasonals and Darien, assured him that all were in deep slumber.

He and Dais had returned only an hour or so after they had left, arms full with scrolls, parchments, and ancient volumes that might hold clues as to what type of spell could cause what was currently happening to the Ronins.

The man got out of bed and stretched, he felt restless and uneasy; he cast a glance around the room, before pulling on the clothes that lay on the floor. Kayura had ordered him and Dais to change into clean dry clothes before they caught cold.

He rolled his deep blue eyes, sometimes she acted more like a mother than a colleague, but that was Kayura for you.

The Winter Seasonal quietly slipped out of the room, allowing his thoughts to linger on all that had happened up until this point in time.

The initial mess Talpa had left behind had finally been cleaned up, it had taken many hours of hard labor and determination, but in the end they had managed to do an amazing job.

By throwing themselves into work, he, Sekhmet, Dais and Kayura, did not get that much time to dwell on the fact that Anubis was gone. Granted Kayura had not known the man all that well, but she did feel guilty and responsible for his death. For the three men though, the loss had hurt them significantly. Far greater than a one of them was willing to admit.

When not under Talpa's strict eye, the four Warlords had worked and trained together, most of all they had talked, and bickered much like brothers. They had been a family of sorts, granted a very odd and unusual family, but still a family. Anubis had been taken from them, first by the Ancient and the Ronin Warriors, and then finally by Badamon.

After learning the truth of the matter though, the three could not hold the Ronins or the Ancient responsible for taking away the youngest of their ranks; Talpa had deceived them and Anubis had been the one to see through that deception. Perhaps if they had headed his warnings, the former Warlord of Cruelty might have been spared.

Cale paused a moment as he made his way down the stairs, realizing he had been mulling over this train of thought the first time he met _her._

* * *

_**Flashback: **_**Dynasty; Nether ****Realm (****Youjakai): July 1996**

A cold wind swept around him, but the man did not notice, his eyes were shut tightly as he thought about all that had happened in the years gone by. Though to be truthful, he was focusing more on all that had been lost.

"You miss him, don't you?" A female voice inquired, the Japanese was somewhat fragmented as though it had been a while since she'd spoken last.

Cale immediately opened his eyes, prepared in case the voice belonged to a rival warlord.

What greeted his sight was a young woman perhaps no more than eighteen, clad in what could be considered rather odd attire.

Her collar was burgundy, with two purple stripes on each side; the choker around her neck was burgundy as well, and had a small black red-tinted jewel in the center.

The bow in the front was the same deep shade of burgundy, having a black heart-shaped jewel in the middle, while the long bow on her back was black and purple. Her almost knee length skirt, had three layers, the top was burgundy, the middle black, and the final purple.

The former Warlord of Darkness frowned, he had heard of what were considered Sailor Senshi, representatives of the planets and stars, but Talpa (as did most other demons) had waved it off as nothing more than myth.

Yet, this girl could pass for one; except she wore no gloves, and her tiara was not gold but silver with four star-shaped jewels, and a crescent moon in the center. He noticed that each jewel was colored differently, and in the same shade as the former Ronin armor. From what he had read, and learned from Dais, each Senshi only had one jewel to represent the planet/star they were from, and they wore gloves.

His continued silence amused her, as she teased lightly, "Did the _dog _catch your tongue?"

Cale's eyes narrowed sharply, he knew what the original expression was and her substitution for the word 'dog' told him she knew exactly who and what he used to be.

"Who are you?" He gritted out, more than prepared to dispose of her.

She chuckled lightly, "Ah Sasaki Kujuurou, I did not come here to fight you. You have already guessed what I am; I am one of the Senshi though I do not work among them that often. Currently I can't, because certain spirits think it'd be better if I played dead."

He had been momentarily taken aback by the use of his birth name, it had been so long since he had heard it used; he shook himself slightly, sneering, "Is that so?"

The Scout shrugged, getting back to her original question, "Do you miss him? Because he misses you all as well; he doesn't regret what he had to do, he only regrets that you had to clean up everything without his help."

"Who are you talking about?" The former Warlord demanded; a total and complete stranger shouldn't be saying things like this, not unless it really happened.

"Anubis, who else would I be talking about?" She rolled violet eyes and looked at him, "Honestly, going senile in your old age, are you?"

Cale was now getting frustrated, as he glared heatedly at the girl in front of him, he was about to make a nasty comment or two when she chuckled.

"Sorry, didn't mean to antagonize you," the Scout smirked at him, "But you've always been easy to annoy. They call me Lady Universe and I am here, because I cannot be seen on the Ningenkai, at least not yet. I am considered to be the guardian of the Sailor Senshi, much like Lady Kayura is the guardian of the Ronins and yourself."

"Then why do you have parts of the Ronin armor in your tiara?" He inquired, most of his anger subsiding, general curiosity taking its place.

"Oh so even without your armor you can still detect such things, impressive," She commented, saying with a slight shrug, "I said I was considered the Senshi's guardian, but sometimes I work as guardian for the Ronins. In the past it was whenever Kayura was short-handed."

"In the past?" His eyebrows went up, and his eyes once again narrowed.

She shook her black and silver head at him in amusement, "I can tell you very little now, only know that we have met and worked together before in lives past. When I can tell you more I promise I shall, but for right now things are, as mortals say 'touch and go.' I will leave you now."

"Wait!" Cale called out only to find she had already vanished, "I wanted to know why you were here in the first place.

'_That's simple to answer,' _her voice broke across his mind, _'You called for me.'_

* * *

**Present Time**

The Seasonal of Winter let out a chuckle that had been his first of many interesting and confusing talks with the Sailor of the Universe. But her first appearance had been a warning of things to come, that much he had known right away.

It was during the first week of August, after Kayura had met with the 'elders' that the signs had really started to come about.

Kayura had been edgy after that meeting, and more snappish than usual. It had taken Dais a lot to calm her down, after one of her arguments with Cale. The girl had almost thrown the Warlord of Darkness through the wall.

Cale shook his head in amusement, _'Poor Dais, why he tries to mediate, I'll never know.'_

* * *

_**Flashback: **_**Dynasty, Nether Realm (Youjakai): August 1996)**

"What is the matter, Kayura? You have been restless as of late," Dais softly inquired, watching her with concern.

The girl clasped and unclasped her hands, "I have a nagging feeling especially after that discussion, and he…" She gave Cale a hate-filled glare, "Is not helping matters."

"I am not helping matters?" the man angrily demanded, and made a move for her.

Dais quickly intervened, placing his arm in front of his friend, giving him a look to _'back-off-or-else.'_

Cale gave a snort through his nose, rolling his eyes showing his annoyance, but complied with the warning.

"Nagging feeling about what?" Dais gently pried, knowing if he pressed the wrong button and too hard, he would set her off. Nothing was worse than having a ranting raving Kayura, nothing.

"Something is amiss. There is a rumor going around the Dynasty soldiers that the 'ancient evil' is returning. But what, and where the ancient evil is, I don't know. It may mean trouble for us, or trouble for the Ronins," She threw her hands up in exasperation, "And Kaosu and that other woman were too-vague in their explanation. I have no clue what is going on, and it's driving me mad!"

Sekhmet joined the three a small scowl on his face, "I would not like to drag the Ronins into anything else. The war against Talpa was more than enough for them, besides there is nothing to say that they kept up with their training."

"I do not think any one of us here does wish to involve the Ronins. However," Kayura sighed a frown on her face, "Fate chooses whom fate chooses. It is not our choice to decide who is chosen to do one task, or another."

"So, basically, you have a suspicion. It does not explain why you try to kill me each…"

"Cale!" Sekhmet and Dais yelled at him, sometimes they both figured he antagonized the Lady Ancient on purpose.

Kayura growled at him, fully prepared to take him to the ground and beat some sense into him, but a laugh caught her attention and she looked up.

The warrior was lounging on one of the rooftops that encircled the outside garden the four were standing in. Realizing she had their full attention, she tucked a strand of her black-silver hair behind her ear, and then leapt off the wall.

"If the Ronins saw the four of you behaving like children, they'd die laughing," she chuckled in amusement.

"Who are you?" Dais demanded switching into a fight-stance.

She rolled her violet eyes in annoyance, muttering to herself, "Honestly what is it with you people! Anytime I come here someone always has to switch over to a defensive-stance; paranoid much?" The Scout sighed heavily through her nose, saying, "Calm yourself Kuroda Jirougorou, I did not come to do battle."

Sekhmet coughed a little only a rare few knew Dais' real name, even Cale did not have that privilege.

Another chuckle escaped the approaching warrior, "I know you too, Yamanouchi Naotoki. Now the question is do any of you know me?"

Kayura sized the warrior up no more than eighteen or nineteen perhaps, but the startling violet eyes conveyed she was far older than that; black-silver hair and an outfit that certainly was different from anything the Lady Ancient had seen to-date. The clothing was dark, mysterious, yet the being radiated a certain calmness and light, that was odd indeed.

Cale gave a bored yawn not impressed with her entrance, "Good to see you Lady Universe."

"And you," She smirked at the man, "Always a pleasure, Sasaki Kujuurou."

"How do you know each other?" Dais asked partly confused, had Cale been sneaking off to the mortal realm without him?

"I visited a month ago, he unintentionally called me; all the better though," She become serious as she said next, "However, we have all met before, and long before Talpa."

Sekhmet narrowed his eyes at her, still not sure what was going on, "What are you?"

"I," She stretched a little, having been sitting idle for at least an hour, "Would be the oldest Sailor Senshi, or Sailor Scout. I am one of the guardians of Time and the Elements; I also guard those deemed protectors of the universe."

Kayura blinked a handful of times, not sure if she could believe her eyes, "The Forgotten One?"

Universe grinned a little, "Yes, that would be me. So you did read some about me, in the ancient scrolls, Lady Kayura."

"But you're a myth!" Dais cried aloud, he had read that same material, in fact he had read even more than the Lady Ancient and Cale on the subject.

"Last time I checked so were you," she shot back with a smirk.

Cale laughed, very few challenged Dais like that, "Very well said. Enlighten us, why are you here exactly?"

"To 'confirm' the rumors you are hearing of course, and to better explain the lenient explanation the elders gave you," She paused a moment, thinking over where to start, "The Dynasty soldiers are correct in being concerned, the 'ancient evil' is returning. Talpa failed, as did the other allies, this means he will come soon."

"What?" Kayura gave an audible gasp, not sure if she could believe that; "Talpa was under orders for someone else?"

"In previous lifetimes yes, however Talpa had no memory of this," the Scout explained, "The ancient evil had hoped that, though the memories were gone, Talpa would succeed. He near did, managed to get the five of you in his claws, wish I knew how that happened."

A frown had formed on Universe's face, as she added, "I suppose the Raikken had a hand in that."

"The what?"

"Don't worry Cale, I did promise to explain the matter to you in full, remember?"

The former Warlord nodded, he definitely remembered.

"Please sit, this tale needs to be told properly," the Scout stated in an even tone of voice

* * *

**Present time**

Cale let out a sigh, he remembered as the four of them had sat through almost two hours of condensed history. The Sailor of the Universe had explained the situation in the fullest of details possible, knowing that the elders had not, and would not do so. According to her something called the 'Great Council' had restricted the elders from doing much during this lifetime. Even her role was rather limited, or so she had said.

The warrior had warned them to be on the look out for the Raikken soldiers, and that they could intentionally or unintentionally end up in the Dynasty. She also mentioned that the four of them might end up in the mortal realm, for a while, depending on how things went.

But when she had informed them in September that they would eventually have to join with the Ronins, well…The Winter Seasonal tried hard not to laugh now…The reaction had been interesting to say the very least.

* * *

_**Flashback: **_**Dynasty, Nether Realm: September 1996**

Sailor Universe had just finished speaking of what was currently going on in the mortal realm, when she said, "You will have to fight alongside the Ronins, I just don't know when Kaosu will admit you are needed."

"What!" Dais, Sekhmet, and Cale cried loudly; Kayura merely stared at the warrior in shock.

Sailor Universe gave a prolonged sigh, and ran a hand through her hair, "I knew that would go over real well. Please try and understand, and I've explained this before, you were all on the same side. In order to fight Akemliek you have to work together now, it's the only way to get rid of him."

"You're crazy," Sekhmet told her plainly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"And you're a hypocrite," Kayura giggled at him.

Dais and Cale snickered at the look on their friend's flushed face, Universe meanwhile rolled her eyes.

Sekhmet walked over to Kayura, and then ruffled her hair, "You watch yourself little sister. I don't have to be so nice to you."

Kayura stuck her tongue out at the young man, "You're full of hot air, Sekhmet."

The Scout of the Universe let out a groan, "I don't get how you four can behave like this half the time, and the other half you spend wanting to strangle one another. Are you going psychotic in your old ages?"

The Seasonal of Winter grinned in amusement, "Perhaps we are. Still, getting back to our prior subject…"

"You want us to work alongside the Ronins? It isn't…" Summer's bearer began to protest.

"Ah!" Universe pointed her index finger at him, "It took a combined effort to get rid of Talpa, so I don't want to hear that it's impossible Dais. The Ronins were fighting him on their end, and you four were here trying to stop the merging of the realm's on your end. Do you think I don't know that?"

"They might not want to work with us though…" Kayura spoke up voice soft and quiet, "After everything we did to them, you expect us to work as one? To be friends?"

"Yes," she nodded and elaborated, "I'm not expecting, say, Dais and Kento to become bosom buddies over night. It's going to be gradual, but you're going to have to be friends eventually."

Cale and Sekhmet were sniggering at how the Scout had put it, and the annoyed look on Dais face was also some cause for amusement.

"I also don't expect Cale and Sage," she said overtop the noise, "Or Sekhmet and Cye to get along within the first eight centuries either."

That caused their laughing to stop and quite abruptly, giving Dais his turn to chortle.

"I guess I'll just have problems with Ryo and Rowen," Kayura heavily sighed, this didn't sound like it was going to be easy.

"Mhm. I doubt they'll still be holding a grudge," Universe murmured, trying to give some encouragement, "They know what happened wasn't your fault. Talpa almost got control of them, remember? He absorbed them, so they felt exactly how evil he was, it isn't like they don't understand what you went through. Sure, not to the same extent, but the five of them got close enough to get the general idea as to how evil."

Her words made sense to them, and each became quiet as their thoughts intruded; it was like this for several minutes before the silence broke.

"If Anubis were here…" Dais looked up, saying quietly, "He wouldn't believe this."

Sailor Universe had a whimsical smile on her face, "Oh I don't know about that. Seeing as he's been present at almost all the elder meetings I've been called to, I know he believes it."

"_WHAT_?" They all shouted near to the top of their lungs

The Scout merely laughed, "Oh yes, you like that news even better. Can't win, can I?"

* * *

**Present time**

Cale ran a hand through his short wild blue hair, not even a week after that, the Ancient One had approached them with a way to bring back the former Warlord of Cruelty. None of them had given it much thought, they had said yes as soon as the monk finished explaining.

'_Intensive work nothing,' t_he Winter Seasonal thought, _'But, in the end it was more than worth it.'_

The man halted as he came to the landing in the living room, as his eyes readjusted to the area, he could see a single light was on in the kitchen, and a form was at the counter.

He frowned, if the light was off, he'd be able to see the details perfectly. He wasn't sure who would be up at this hour, besides himself so he stealthily approached, and then heard a low rumble come from a large form on the floor.

"I know he's there, White Blaze, leave him be. Morning Cale," Elayne said nonchalantly, as she turned around to face the stunned warrior.

"How did you know?" He inquired quite dumbfounded.

"I can sense things, auras, energy signatures, the like," she responded and winked at him, "Don't you know women have more of a sixth-sense than men on a normal level?"

"Ah and this isn't a 'normal' level?" Cale smirked at her.

"A normal person would've committed themselves long before reaching this point," she darkly commented, before turning back to what she was reading.

"You didn't sleep very long," the Winter Seasonal noted.

She turned the page, and began to write something down on the blank piece of paper next to her, "I could say the same of you. I'm usually up at this hour; my body is used to being awake. Even if I get a full night's rest, I wake around six that is without dreams and visions mind you."

"Ahh," Cale shifted uncomfortably under the tiger's scrutinizing gaze.

"Quit being so protective Blaze," the girl warned the cat, saying to the Seasonal, "Ignore him, he gets that way around Ryo."

"Really? Jealous are we, no one will steal your girl away from you White Blaze, I assure you," the man chuckled.

White Blaze rolled his eyes, _'This guy is an idiot.'_

"Blaze!" Elayne snapped, causing Cale to jump in surprise.

He eyed her carefully, "You understand him, word for word?"

"Ya, another wonderful ability thanks to the jewelry," She glowered at the crystal for a moment. "Did you and Dais have any luck?"

He carefully slid into the seat next to hers trying to figure out what she was doing exactly, "We sorted through some information, but most of it was hard to read. What are you reading?"

"It's the book Ami wanted me to look at," Elayne replied, as she continued to write on the piece of paper, looking between it and the book every few seconds, "They couldn't read it, because it's in Italian, I'm stuck doing the translating around here. That is, when they decide to involve me in _anything_."

"Oh, still sore about them keeping such big secrets from you?" He asked this because of the sour note in her voice.

"How'd you ever guess?" She sarcastically grumbled out, flipping to the next page.

The girl paused in the midst of writing down the next line, and let out an aggravated sigh, "Ugh I don't believe this. This says the same thing as that huge volume they found. Why the heck am I translating it?"

Cale offered her a shrug in response to the question, wincing as she slammed the book shut.

"Mind if I take a look at what you and Dais brought back?" Elayne curiously inquired.

"Not at all," Cale quickly got up, went to the hall closet, and pulled out the scrolls then placed them on the counter.

He didn't see the harm in letting her look over what had been brought back; he doubted she'd be able to read the stuff anyway. The Winter Seasonal had a certain amount of respect and trust for the girl; after all, next to Kayura he had dealt with her the most.

The girl smiled her thanks, and gently picked up the one on top, grinning in delight, "Great it's in Ancient Japanese! Finally something interesting to read."

"I still can't believe you know so many languages," the Winter Seasonal commented, sitting back down and picking up a piece of parchment.

She shrugged her shoulders, "It's helpful for my job setting and plus I like to learn. Learning a new language is fun and challenging, even if my legal guardian forced me to take so many of them."

A frown formed on her face, as she continued to read the scroll, "I don't believe it."

"What, what is it?" Cale immediately put what he was holding down, and looked at her.

The frown slowly subsided, to be replaced by a grin, "This is an inventory list! A list of all the books kept, what they looked like, and what each book contained."

"Look for something that mentions, 'The Forbidden,' or anything that might hint at restricted and/or extremely dark spells."

"Uh okay," She looked it over carefully, "No, but there are more pages to this list. At least four others according to the note on the bottom of this page, they all are in this color and marked with a star in the top left-hand corner."

It took them a few minutes to sort through the fifty or so scrolls and parchments, before they found what they were looking for. In the end it was Elayne who came up with the needed information; "It's in a black-leather bound cover, on the front there should be a single marking, I think it says a skull…This chicken-scratch is horrible to try and decipher; it's worse than Rowen's writing!"

Cale let out a chuckle before going back to the closet and looking through the books that were present, he shook his head, "It isn't here, but I remember seeing it in a certain section of the study."

"I take it we have to go back?" Dais inquired from behind, causing Cale to slightly jump.

Elayne grinned, as she turned her head to look at the new arrivals, "Morning minna. Do you always get up at six-thirty?"

"No, earlier normally," Sekhmet yawned, "Your time is different from ours though."

"Meaning, it's about three-thirty in the Nether Realm," Kayura cheerfully added. She had to be the only morning person on the entire Estate property to Elayne's knowledge

"Nubis awake?" Cale inquired as he walked back to the counter and began stacking the scattered parchments into a single pile.

"No," came the unanimous reply.

"Yes," Anubis answered for himself, shocking all four of his friends, who cried, "Don't do that!"

The Spring Seasonal smirked at them, "I'll go back to being dead, if you'd like."

"No!"

Anubis was chuckling now, that response had come rather fast, hadn't it?

Elayne shook her head in mirth, "Yup, just as mature as the Ronins."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dais asked eyebrows raised in questioning.

"Whatever you would like it to," She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Hey!" He growled at the girl.

Sekhmet chuckled and restrained his friend, "Now, be a little more gracious to our host."

Kayura, Cale, and Anubis gave a look at their green-haired companion, what did he want?

"Oh please," the girl seemed to be thinking along the same lines, "He's in the basement Sekhmet, all you had to do was ask."

"Yipee!"

Kayura gave a groan, as she watched the former Warlord of Venom practical skipped down the stairs, "That was embarrassing."

Cale and Anubis nodded in agreement, however Dais remained quiet.

"Yes Dais," Elayne tried hard not to roll her eyes, as she picked up the papers Cale had stacked, and then put them away.

Dais gave a polite bow, and departed somewhat more discreetly than his friend had.

"Do I even want to know?" Kayura inquired somewhat bewildered.

The girl shrugged, "A boa constrictor and abnormally large tarantula showed up yesterday, they were given less than accurate directions by their owners. That's how I knew for certain you all were here. The first hint was when you didn't answer the communication orb, Kayura."

Elayne paused, "Now, don't ask me why when you all have been here for a week-and-a-half that the pets decided to show up yesterday, I'm still trying to figure that one out."

Kayura shook her head saying in amusement, "Well they're both male, and you know how men hate having to ask for directions."

"That's what I was thinking, but I didn't want to say it," the girl sniggered.

"Sometimes, I wonder if Sekhmet isn't still seventeen mentally," Cale muttered ignoring the two women, being able to discern his friend's happy babbling from the basement.

Anubis chuckled and said with a smirk, "Not all of us were as blessed to be as old as you and Dais, Cale."

"Hey!"

* * *

"Do you think they've noticed?" Kayura inquired with a smile.

Elayne listened for a few minutes, and shook her head, "Nope, they're still at it."

The two had departed the moment Cale and Anubis had started up their little brawl, then as if hearing some silent signal Dais and Sekhmet had hastily returned and thrown themselves wholeheartedly into the mess.

Kayura giggled unable to help it, "It's nice to have Anubis back, they've all been much happier since his return. He was sorely missed."

"Ouch, Nubis!"

Elayne licked her chapped lips, "Yeah, 'sore' describes it adequately. They're lucky the others are so exhausted, and are such sound sleepers. Not a good thing for the world maybe, but a good thing for the Seasonals."

"Seasonals, eh?" Kayura raised an eyebrow, "How do you come up with that name, anyway?"

"Calling them 'former Warlords' and using their former titles is pretty tongue tiring, 'Seasonals' is much easier to use," the girl explained, "And I get that from the fact that their armors are based on the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. In my book you're also a Seasonal, seeing as how you did bear the Spring Ogre until its disappearance."

"Talking with you like this is a rather nice change," the woman commented, brushing her bangs aside. "It beats the hushed and hurried conversations in the mall."

"Ya I'll say," the girl nodded, "So how'd getting here go?"

"Well when we first arrived at this house, it was so late, but Wildfire was waiting, as was Aurora. She let me bunk with her and the other Elemental Senshi, and the guys got to bunk with Darien. He had offered it when Ryo announced our impending arrival. I think what really got me though, was Wildfire being so welcoming to us."

"Ah, you were surprised that Ryo was actually glad to see you all, huh?" Elayne chuckled a little, "Shocker, ne?"

"Yes, granted we had talked and things after Talpa's defeat but I figured it, er…Well that it might be an act," Kayura paused and corrected herself, "Actually maybe I was hoping it was an act."

Elayne snorted back a laugh, "Ryo's acting skills are worse than Kento's, the guy is too honest for his own good. Why would you hope it was an act? That way you would be justified in feeling guilty?"

"I suppose so," the Lady Ancient shrugged, "I don't understand my own emotions sometimes. I may be physically twenty now, and mentally four-hundred thirty-six, but human emotions are still new to me."

"About that, I have a stupid question. How is that you and Sekhmet have gone back to aging normally, while Dais and Cale have stopped?" Elayne asked with a frown; that had been bugging her for a while.

"We went back to aging normally after Talpa tried merging the worlds; apparently the merge had some after-effects on the Nether Realm. Dais and Cale were aging normally as well up until last year; I have no clue why though. It could have been the armors, they vanished, but the links between us and them were never really severed."

"That makes sense," the girl said with a thoughtful nod, leaning out over the porch railing, enjoying the view as the sun finally awoke from its nightly slumber.

"Elayne…" Kayura murmured after a few minutes of silence, pausing as she tried to pick out the right words, "We've known each other for a few months now, so tell me honestly. What do you think of us?"

"Well," she briefly thought it over, "From what I know about you, and have seen just by watching the Seasonals reactions, you're definitely not the lady to cross. Which is awesome, I don't find many 'ladies' out there that are willing to speak their minds and act similar to ways I do. The others? Umm, Sekhmet could use professional help, Dais might benefit from a long vacation away from his friends, Cale could invest in getting a real night's sleep for once, and Anubis? Well, he's Anubis."

The young Ancient was even more at ease now than before; she instantly remembered why she liked this girl so much; it was her sense of humor.

"Oops, I misunderstood the question, didn't I? To be honest…" Elayne sighed, taking in a deep breath of the fresh morning air, "I don't think you're bad, at all. Granted you put the guys through a lot of pain, but heck you were deceived. Everyone's entitled to do at least one stupid thing in their lifetime, that's the way I see it. Serving an evil emperor against/in your own will, counts as stupid in my book."

The girl paused for a moment then continued, "It takes a warrior to defeat an evil such as that, but even a greater warrior to forgive his former enemies after the war is over. How many costly mistakes could have been avoided, if someone had just apologized? How many lives spared, if people had just talked things out? It isn't a wonder there is greater evils out there that try to take over this planet, with all the negative energy given off, it's rather inviting."

Kayura marveled at her words, and was even more surprised as the girl continued; she was definitely level-headed and quite the deep-thinker.

"But even with all the pain, despair, and hatred we have to believe that there is enough good in this place. Believe that mankind can still be 'humane,' and that this storm, shall too pass. The warriors are a symbol of hope and light, everyone has to have faith in something, or someone. I have more than enough faith in them, and you. You and the other four are a part of this too, Kayura. I can't hold something against you, that wasn't your fault. I don't think the guys will either."

"Thank…Thank you." Kayura breathed, she had not been expecting such a response, but still was elated to get one.

Elayne paused for a moment thinking about what she had just said, and then she shrieked, "Eek! I'm turning into Sage, or worse still Rowen. Crap!"

Kayura burst into that musical laugh of hers, shaking her head as she did so trying to fight back tears of laughter.

Suddenly the two heard a loud thud, exchanged nervous glances and rushed into the house. The scene that greeted them was hard not to laugh at, and they sniggered under their breaths trying to contain their laughter.

* * *

Kento saw the two and grinned, before saying innocently, "Oops, sorry Dais, didn't see you there."

The former Warlord of Illusion shoved the Ronin of Hardrock off of him, "You did that on purpose!"

Ryo was trying hard not to laugh; Kento had propelled himself into the ongoing brawl between the four Seasonals in order to join in the fun and to possibly break it up.

"Great, another wondrous morning on the Shinwako grounds," Lindsay mumbled, stepping around the sprawled out figures.

"What if I did?" Kento shot in return, glaring heatedly at his rival.

"We'll…" Sekhmet started, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, glaring menacingly at the Warrior of Strength.

Elayne cleared her throat, amusement now gone, "Wait till after breakfast. No fighting in the house, cause you'll have to pay for the damages, and I mean _all_ of them."

"Yeah, watch it boys, she's got you there," Aurora happily brought in, poking her head out of the kitchen.

"Thanks for the warning," Cale grumbled rolling his blue-eyes skywards.

"Someone's cheerful this morning," Michelle commented to the Winter Seasonal with a smirk.

The white cat chuckled, saying "Somebody's probably been up since midnight, again."

Luna tilted her head at White Blaze, who had briefly rumbled something out; she proceeded to translate, "More like some 'two.'"

For some reason all eyes were immediately on Elayne, who merely walked over and gave White Blaze an affectionate scratch behind his ears.

"For your information, oh wise and mighty tiger," She teased, "I've been up since eleven-thirty. Get it right, tattle-tale."

Before anyone could start on her the girl quickly got to her feet, grabbed her jacket, pulled it on, and said, "Later minna, I've got business to attend to. Coming Rini, Diana?"

Rini had a coat on over her clothes, the little lilac kitten perched on her shoulders; "Yup. Bye guys."

Elayne opened the door, and ushered the small girl out the door, saying to the confused looks, "I promised I'd take her out for breakfast, and to the art gallery," before closing the door behind her.

"The girl gives me a headache," Amara muttered in annoyance.

"You are a headache Amara Ten'ou!" Elayne's voice drifted back, having heard the comment through an open window.

"She also has a mouth," Anubis chuckled in mirth.

"Hardrock's mouth," Sekhmet and Dais muttered together, rolling their eyes.

"What was that?" Kento demanded, cracking his knuckles and glaring at the two.

'_Oh boy here we go,'_ Ryo rolled his eyes, _'It's going to be a long day, AGAIN!'_

"Boys, you heard Layne, save it till after breakfast," Vanessa warned from the kitchen, as she continued to help Lita with the preparations. Aurora sniggered to herself, as she turned over a pancake; entertainment was certainly not in short supply at the mansion.

"Okay, okay," the three men sighed in defeat, and sat down at the dining room table.

The Wildfire Ronin leaned back in his chair, still finding it odd to not see Cye in the kitchen, it just felt wrong to him. But it had been the norm, ever since the attack.

The new morning ritual was that he, Rowen, and Sage would come down after breakfast was called, eat, and leave for the room again. Whenever they went out of the house, their respective elemental partner would follow them.

Ryo had noticed that even with the three being as they were, their elemental counterparts were working hard, if not twice as hard, to pick up the slack. He absently wondered if that was the initial reason for the Sailor Elementals existence, to take over if anything happened to their armored counter-part. That was something he'd have to look up on his own time, of course.

He let out a sigh, though the women would not say anything he knew they were just as worried as he was, probably more so. Having the same elements undoubtedly meant that they could more easily detect the Ronins situation and distress.

Ryo massaged the point in between his eyebrows, already feeling a migraine starting to come on, anytime he tried to talk to his three friends about what was wrong they'd brush him off, or snap at him.

Ami regarded the Ronin leader worriedly, asking softly, "Are you all right?"

"Huh?" The young man looked up to meet the Sailor of Mercury's gaze.

She gently placed her book down on the table, saying with a frown, "Ryo, that's the fifth headache this week, and we are barely half way through it."

Wildfire's bearer shrugged carelessly, "I'm fine, there's nothing wrong with me."

Trista was also regarding the Ronin leader carefully, "I doubt that very much. You should have it checked out."

"Elayne's a doctor you know," Mina thoughtfully brought in.

Rei snickered loudly, "He can't be nice to her for more than two minutes. She'd have to put him under anesthetic."

The other Scouts stared at the girl open-mouthed, Kento and the Seasonals, on the other hand, were laughing uncontrollably.

"Thanks a bunch Mars," Ryo growled at the girl, time had passed and now the girl was no longer afraid to speak around him. In fact she enjoyed putting him in the spotlight, which annoyed him to no end.

Rei flashed the Fire Ronin a sugary smile, "Anytime."

Kayura calmed her giggling, noticing who was once more absent at the table; a frown quickly claimed her features, this seemed to be getting worse, they had to find out what was wrong with the three Ronin and soon.

As the last of the food was placed on the table, and breakfast was called, the late sleepers in the house descended the stairs and took their places at the table, followed by the three Ronins.

* * *

Cye came down first, glancing back over his shoulder to make sure his other two companions were still there, satisfied that they were he took his seat at the table, "Morning." The voice sounded devoid of its usual cheer and brightness.

Rowen sighed heavily, and took his seat, giving a brief nod of acknowledgement to the others.

Sage came down the stairs two minutes after Rowen, if he knew anyone was there, he didn't act like he did, he sat, added a miniscule amount of food on his plate, and picked at the food.

Cale cleared his throat, "Dais and I will be heading back to the Dynasty again. It seems we did not bring all the information we had. We should be gone no longer than two hours at the most."

The Summer Seasonal nodded in agreement, showing he was okay with this plan, though it had not been previously discussed.

Everyone else in the room mumbled some form of acknowledgement, not really interested in what the man meant.

"Sounds good," Kento murmured, looking to Callista, "You knowledge-lovers find anything interesting yet?"

"Besides that large volume, nada," the Air Senshi replied a bit miffed, "The volume we gave Elayne to work with said near-to-the-exact same thing as that one. If we find anything of great importance, we'll let everyone know right away."

"Who's working today?" Vanessa asked as she got up from the table, taking her plate with her.

"Nobody, we're all off," Amara replied, and then sighed seeing the pouting look Serena had on, "Except for Darien that is."

"No surprise there," Ryo commented to himself, "That guy is always working. I'd prefer joining him, it beats being stuck here."

Kento raised an eyebrow to his friend, having heard the mumbling quite clearly, but decided not to inquire about it now.

He looked up as the occupants of the house began to clear away their plates, not surprised that when said task was completed, his three friends vanished to their room. The Hardrock Ronin frowned, just how much longer would this go on for?

Only time would tell…And according to the crystal's warning last night, it was safe to assume that not much time was left.

_A/N: I don't make this point all that apparent in the sotry, so I figure I'll do my explaining here. So, why does Talpa have a library? Just because he's in charge of the Nether Realm does not make him all knowing. Let's stop and think about this, the idiot tried to separate the Ronin Warriors and in doing so sent them back to where there armors had the strongest ties to the physical elements. He pretty much doomed himself. Until Badamon showed up in the second season, he was pretty much relying on himself. The only way for Talpa to gain knowledge through reading, because there is no way he would have shown such weakness by learning from someone else. In my mind, he has a huge library on ancient texts on dark arts and all things 'evil' in nature. Make sense now?_


	25. Chapter 24: One Step Closer

**Chapter Twenty-Four: **

"**One Step Closer…"**

**-Akemliek's Domain-**

It was hard to say that Kali was disappointed with how things were turning out; on the contrary, she was delighted and mildly amused that the Ronins had lasted near as long as they had. They wouldn't last much longer though; she had plans to take down the Ronin of Hardrock which would undoubtedly lessen the armors ability to protect their bearers from the spell.

She had figured out that the inflicted Ronins were being somewhat shielded by the uninflected ones' armor. It seemed that the bond between armor and bearer spanned to each member of the team.

When one member was in trouble the other four armors immediately jumped in to protect and shield that member, so basically the armor of Hardrock and Wildfire were protecting Cye, Rowen, and Sage since their respective armor's could not.

Kali had also learned from the Raikken, and just by a new set of energies alone, that Kayura and the Seasonal warriors had arrived; this also helped to offset the spell somewhat.

However, the ice demonness had the perfect plan, and it would more than cause a problem for all the warriors tonight. An evil grin now claimed her features, as she also had plans for after the battle as well. Not directly after, no she was waiting for one certain thing to happen and with the way things were currently going it wouldn't be much longer now.

* * *

It was cool out, yet he continued to perform his exercises anyway; many things were running through his head right now, and certain things stood out more so than others.

The Hardrock Ronin let out an aggravated sigh, it was perhaps an hour or two before supper, and this was most often the time he took to train by himself. Kirstin, his elemental counterpart watched from the porch; ever since the attack on the other three Ronin, she had figured it best to stick within reach of her partner.

The Earth Scout had a hunch that having two of the same element present might further deter Kali from making any moves; and so far it had. She had caught glimpses of the ice demonness over the past week or so, the creature had halted in any attack when seeing her.

Kayura had also supported this idea saying that since both warriors were linked to the same element, the armor had a better chance of protecting it's bearer from whatever spell the demonness had used.

Kento paused at his ninetieth push-up, a frown on his face, as he mulled over his thoughts. It was an understatement to say that he was worried over the current happenings, he was panicked. It was all too obvious to him, that while he was being minimally affected by Sage, Cye and Rowen's current conditions, that Ryo was suffering the worst.

The Ronin leader, though he wasn't complaining out loud, seemed to be in pain and a good deal of it, but he was doing a good job in hiding it from everyone, except for Hardrock. It was just one of those things that Kento knew, it was rather hard to explain, but he was just so good at reading people and what they were feeling that he knew when something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong with Wildfire's bearer; the young man was wearing out quickly in battles, and he was in prime health!

Kento grunted, now on his ninety-fifth push-up, it had to be the armors or so was his thinking at least. With three warriors out of commission, didn't it make sense that they would be putting strain on the other two? And wouldn't it fall more on Ryo because he had wielded the Armor of Inferno for so long, and for so many times?

Well it made sense to Hardrock's bearer, and when he had offered up the explanation to Kayura and the Seasonals (after their initial shock at him for having deduced such a thing) had readily agreed saying that it was the most logical explanation available.

However, that didn't solve what was wrong with the bearers of Strata, Halo and Torrent, nor did it help bring the matter any closer to a close.

The Seasonals of Winter and Summer had found the volume they were looking for, but it was around four-hundred pages, with no 'table of contents' readily available so it was taking time to go through it.

He pulled himself up after finishing his hundredth push up, and stretched out his muscles, looking up at the woman leaning against the railing, "What's up?"

"We have patrol duty tonight," Kirstin answered rather solemnly.

"That's great!" Kento happily responded, saying with a grin, "I need out of here. The place is driving me crazy."

The Earth Warrior smirked, "Are you sure it isn't the occupants?"

The Hardrock Ronin chortled out his reply, "Probably both." He had a smile on, but it faltered, "Oh brother."

Kirstin heard it too, and rolled her eyes at the exact same time he did, "Inner Scouts versus Outer Scouts, Round Two."

"You think they'd get tired of screeching after so many weeks of it," Kento commented as he walked up the porch steps.

Kirstin snorted back a laugh, "You'd think so."

* * *

"I've about had it with you!" Rei yelled at Michelle.

What this latest 'bickering match' was about Ryo didn't have a clue, he probably didn't want one either. All he knew for certain was that Rei was actually pissed this time around, which meant they were sunk.

If anyone had displayed a temper close to his own, it was the hot-headed stubborn Fire Senshi of Mars. With the look she was giving to Neptune, Ryo was glad to be on the girl's good side.

"Save it Rei," Trista gave the girl a warning look. She was getting very tired of this nonsense between the younger Senshi; being close to three thousand she saw little point to argue with anyone let alone her fellow Scouts.

"You're not in charge of us, Trista," Lita icily stated, "You can't keep your own Scouts in line."

"There's a laugh, Serena can't even…" Amara started with a snort, but she stopped short upon seeing the death glare Hotaru was giving her. One thing about it, while the Senshi of Saturn might be an Outer, she was fiercely defensive of the Inner.

The Outer Senshi all knew this, but sometimes they forgot that their youngest was loyal to both sides.

Mina snapped back in aggravation, "Serena may be a klutz, but at least she isn't a traitor."

"Traitor?" Michelle hissed out, eyes narrowing venomously "Were you really willing to sacrifice this planet…"

"LADIES!" Kento bellowed upon entering the house, and all eyes snapped to his direction.

"Keep it down would you, we just got a call from America complaining about the racket," he and Kirstin then brushed past the quarreling sides, grabbing Ryo as they did so.

The Ronin of Wildfire blinked a handful of times, and then started to struggle, "Wait…"

"Let them duke it out, it'd probably get them to quit," Kento cheerily said, "'Sides I want to see what Ness is cooking."

_'Leave it to him to try and get me to think about anything besides the fate of the world,'_ Ryo chuckled and shook his head in mirth, "What would we do without you, eh Kento?"

Hardrock's bearer beamed, "For one thing, you wouldn't have to guard your plates."

Kirstin had remained silent until that statement, and when she heard it she started to laugh.

"But that's half the fun," Ryo retorted with a grin.

Kento smirked at his friend, "And twice the effort!"

* * *

Supper had been quiet, and uneventful, not a word was spoken to or from anyone. That was rather unusual, but having a table of complete silence was a rather nice change as far as some of the warriors were concerned. Rini had come back only a few minutes before the last plate had been set down.

Since Elayne was unable to work, she had been taking the younger girl out of the house for the past four days, saying that it was no good for someone Rini's age to be stuck in a house twenty-four seven. More often than not, Hotaru would accompany them; being Rini's friend she normally went wherever the small girl did.

For the most part, Elayne was keeping well out of the warriors' ways, only bothering to hang around if and when she was asked. It had normally been due to the two younger Senshis pressuring, that the girl had remained around the house after dropping them off.

However tonight had been different as Kayura had more or less begged her not to leave, this had surprised almost everyone in the house. Apparently, Kayura and the girl were quite decent friends having had to meet on a constant basis since August. Since in October all outside communication to the mortal realm had to be cut off (for that is when they were in the process of reviving Anubis), the Lady Ancient wanted to 'catch up' on things.

"You still don't believe it?" Kirstin queried of the Hardrock Ronin.

A shake of purple-ash hair was her response, as the man mumbled, "More like trying to believe it. Who would've thought that Elayne would be friends with Kayura? It was hard enough to swallow that she knew the Seasonals, but she's on good terms with them!"

The Earth Senshi frowned a little, "They were on Talpa's side in this lifetime, but weren't in the others."

"Ya, but Layne didn't know that till Callista explained it to her," Kento pointed out, kicking a rock with the toe of his sub armor.

"Well no offense, but didn't you guys teach her that it is wrong to hold a grudge against someone? I know we did. You can't expect her to hold the same view as you do, Kento. You're her family and all, but they never attacked her."

"Yeah? Well," The Hardrock Ronin protested, "They could have."

Kirstin shook her head and sighed, "I give up you're never going to see it from an outside perspective."

Kento shrugged and looked ahead, "Raikken."

"Yes perfect timing, I need something to vent my frustration on!" The Earth Scout cheerfully stated, as she pulled out her pendant, and transformed.

* * *

He had just finished crushing the last soldier, and it had no sooner faded into ash then he felt it. Quickly the Hardrock Ronin leapt out of the way of a negative energy blast, a frown on his face. Kali had not struck in weeks, and now all of a sudden she was here? That wasn't a good sign at all.

'_Hey Ryo, we've got company!'_ Kento shouted out over the Ronin link, _'Seems someone got tired of playing cat and mouse.'_

"Hang on Kento, we're coming," The Ronin leader was instantly on his feet, giving a pointed look to the few warriors with him, "Trouble decided to show up. Let's go."

In no time at all, each Scout had finished alerting their teammates, and everyone was out of the house in an instant, leaving behind a fuming Rini and bewildered Elayne.

White Blaze was not happy either; he angrily flicked his tail back and forth, and growled to himself.

"They have a point, someone has to wait for Darien," Elayne offered with a shrug, she wasn't as offended as the other two at being told to stay out of harm's way.

The tiger shot the girl a nasty look, and she bristled saying tartly, "Just because you're mad at Ryo doesn't mean you can take it out on me. I'll take you to a vet."

He glared at her for a moment, then thought better of it, and went back to angrily pacing.

Rini was scowling, "I can't believe them."

"Hey munch," Elayne lowered herself so she was eye-level with the small child, "They just don't want you to get hurt. 'Cause they'd have a heck of a time trying to explain that to your Mom and Dad."

The child giggled a little, "You're right."

"Course I am," Elayne grinned, and ruffled Rini's hair, looking up when the door opened.

"Tadaima," Darien announced, as he hung up his coat, frowning when he saw that the house was basically empty.

"Welcome back, you've got interesting timing, everyone's out fighting," Elayne said with a smirk, "Better be careful Dare, minna might start thinking you're in league with the bad guys."

He snorted deeply, "Sure, the day they start thinking you're a reincarnation."

She rolled her eyes skyward, "I was supposed to be a reincarnation. I was going to be one of the two Universes, but since they got slain by Raikken, the soul transfer didn't occur."

"Oh yeah forgot that part," He smiled weakly, frowning as she made her way upstairs, "Where are you going?"

"To take a nap," she replied with a large yawn, "Your kid is wearing me out." With that she made her way into the upstairs hallway, before disappearing from view.

Darien heard her door open and shut and then looked at his future daughter who merely shrugged in response.

* * *

Her plan was rather simple; briefly engaged the Hardrock Ronin and when he called for back-up, have the Raikken separate the rushing warriors into groups of three or less. Then re-appear, and take Hardrock's energy, after placing the young man into a situation where he would have no choice but to call on the full power of his armor.

Currently, Kali was merely in phase one of her three part plan, but she refused to let Aarde and the Ronin of Hardrock know that their fate was already planned out. All she had to do was wait for the Elemental Senshi to arrive, and naturally the Earth Scout would go by her team, and then have the Raikken further execute their part in this scheme.

At that moment, they were inconspicuously separating the Inner and Outer Senshi; the thick fog that had rolled in was aiding them rather well.

Kento blocked Kali's sword swipe managing to knock her off balance, and get in a hit with the naginata blade.

The demonness snarled enraged, and used her free hand to punch the Hardrock Ronin, in return for the stab. Her evil mind was already on a set train of thought, and a smirk crossed her features.

The Ronins were rather pathetic due to the fact that they were so self-sacrificing. That was their weakness that was how she had managed to inflict them. Sage, when he had shoved Ryo out of the way so he took the majority of the hit. Cye and Rowen when they had been fighting with her, Cye had taken a blow for Rowen, and Rowen took one for Cye.

Yes, Kali smiled cruelly now, the Ronins were stunning and talented warriors, but still tainted with feeble human emotions. Pain and agony were pure music and delight to her, to know that three of the five were suffering mercilessly was a symphony, and soon, and very soon it would be four.

Kento growled low in his throat, he didn't like the smile on the demonness' face at all, she was up to no good, and he knew it.

As the Raikken started to come in greater numbers in the small clearing, greater than Sailor Aarde could handle, the Sailor Elementals and Ronin Seasonals showed up with the Wildfire Ronin not too far behind them watching the rear.

"Hey the Calvary is usually late," the Earth Sailor commented with a grin, sliding into formation with her comrades, "We luck out Kento, they're a few minutes early."

Kento's bo now connected with Kali's side, and she emitted a painful howl of rage, but instead of retaliating she vanished appearing to be gravely wounded (when in fact she was suffering from a five inch cut and nothing more than that) letting the warriors think they had the upper hand.

"Told ya I was lucky Aarde," Hardrock's bearer beamed, frowning slightly, "Where's everyone else?"

Kayura shrugged, the light-weight lilac armor she was wearing moving along with the movement; she twirled the twin jitte in her hands in a bored fashion, "Not quite sure."

While more or less the 'new Ancient,' Kaosu and Suzunagi had decided it might be safer to permit Kayura to continue fighting along the others; after all she did have more than enough training.

So, they had devised what she was currently wearing, it was quite similar to what she had worn under Talpa, except (besides it being lilac) that it was in fact a form of metal, just light enough for her to move without hindrance and correctly proportioned to her small frame.

"It is foggy, they must've gotten lost," Glacia rolled her eyes, how typical.

"I don't think it's as simple as that," Sekhmet commented, eyes and ears trying to detect anything out of the ordinary.

The Seasonal armor was not all that different; though it had lost the evil look and feel to it…The colors were lighter, and the overall build of the armor less menacing than the proceeding set. The weapons, however, and attacks had remained the same…After four hundred some-odd years; it would have been rather hard for the four men to learn to fight with some other form of weaponry.

Why had the attacks remained the same? The same basic component applied to these armors as with the newer Ronin armors…The links between bearer and armor had not changed nor had the requirement of channeling a sure-kill's energy through the body, therefore the way of calling said energy out, had not changed either.

Wildfire's bearer nodded in agreement, "I have a feeling we walked straight into a trap."

"Nah, that's not…" Nova ducked down, and rolled out of the way of an arrow, "Okay I take it back."

The hiding Raikken came out of the shadows, and as they did so the fog thickened to the point where one could not see in front of their own face. The warriors had sprung Kali's well-laid trap, and now all that could be done was to fight without ceasing until they won, or until Kali got what she was after.

* * *

Kayura gritted her teeth, as she slashed through another Raikken, rebounded and got through another. She had more or less 'lost' the other Seasonals, and everyone else…Mental communication was out of the question, she had already tried only to receive a headache in response. Whatever this fog was it was definitely unnatural and Kali had called it up not only to separate them but to also leave them without the chance of contacting one another.

In other words, Kayura was pissed…Beyond pissed, and a stark raving mad Lady Ancient was not the prettiest thing in _either_ realm.

She let out a low growl, jumping into the air and then twisting around to catch an archer hiding in the tree, when she landed she barely avoided getting speared. A short time later the woman was alone again, having dealt with more Raikken than she wanted to count.

She sheathed her jitte, slightly uncertain about what her next move should be…A frown formed on her face, as a stray thought towards the back of her mind surfaced.

Kali's had been attacking the Ronins, so wasn't this just a plot to get at Hardrock or Wildfire, if not both?

Kayura sucked in a deep breath, focusing and calling the staff to her, in a moment the shakujo was in front of its current owner.

The staff was oddly silent, but that did not necessarily mean all was well, it seemed to only react violently when one of the Ronins was in grave danger (as in the life-threatening variety). So someone could possibly be in danger, but not enough to warrant a strong reaction from the staff of the Ancients.

Kayura went back to scowling as she tried to focus as much energy as she could, without losing complete awareness of her current surroundings, into the connection between her and the staff. The rings started to move slowly, and then the quiet chiming-sound picked up abruptly.

The Lady Ancient swore under her breath, grasping the shakujo tightly in one hand she tore off permitting the ancient treasure to guide her to where her charges were.

Soon she could hear the sounds of battle not that far ahead, and Kayura lengthened her stride further…Blue-eyes widening in panic after hearing Hardrock call his sure-kill…For that is when the staff stopped it's frantic dance, and went silent.

Her breath caught slightly, when she heard Kali's cool statement, "Well now, I'll kill all four of you."

So the demonness had managed to catch three others? It was probably the three afflicted Ronins with Kayura's luck, the reason for her nervousness? There was no way she could get there in time, she was already moving at a speed far past her usual limit. Even if she could put more energy into running, her strength and body would be completely spent by the time she reached what was left of the fight.

* * *

Kento's breathing was labored, and he lay mainly unmoving up against a tree, the fight that had just occurred replaying itself in his head.

'_How could I have been so stupid?'_ He wanted to know, but stopped cussing himself out once he realized what a migraine that was giving him.

Metal against metal, good versus evil, the sounds of battle always managed to get his blood pumping to a certain degree. Sometimes the Hardrock Ronin would reach critical mass in adrenaline, but he had kept a lid on it for this fight, knowing that one wrong move could and would cost him big.

Hardrock's bearer had met up with the other three Ronin, not more than fifteen minutes before the fight, they had been relieved to find out it was one another and not more Raikken.

Kento had to be honest, Sage, Cye, and Rowen looked exhausted, he didn't need his armor to let him know that. As they had walked along he could see how slow their movements were, granted it wasn't anything major, but the Ronin of Hardrock knew how his friends normally moved; how they were moving now was not normal.

In a fight, being slow by even a mere fraction of a second could cost much, as much as one's life. When Kali had shown up, it was almost as if she knew the three were weaker and slower; which only confirmed in Kento's mind that she was the cause of this…She had been the one to affect his three friends and brothers-in-arms so terribly, and she was going to suffer the consequences for that.

She had engaged the four of them, all at once, she would dodge and spin out and in among them, treating this more as a game than a life-or-death match; that had succeeded to only anger Kento more.

After ten minutes had passed, Kali had successfully beaten Sage to the point where he could not move, and was no longer of any use to his friends for this fight. The fact that the Armor of Halo was still trying to recover from the complete drain on its power even after so many weeks had passed aided her greatly.

The four Ronin Warriors had already figured out, the minute she appeared, that Kento would be her next target, and each had decided to fight as hard as they could to prevent that from happening. So when she had started to increase how often she was combating against Kento, Strata and Torrent had reacted the way the demonness had predicted they would. The two young men had immediately stepped up how often they were connecting weapons with her.

She ended up making a move to go for Kento, but as Torrent prepared to get in a strike, she swerved around and clipped Strata…Head-on. Cye had recovered quick enough to block the rebounding attack, and managed to shove the ice demonness to the ground with his yari.

He and Kento then backed off to catch their breath, and formulate some plan of attack…Their break did not last long, as Kali quickly picked herself up, and gone back on the offensive once more…But those few minutes had been more than enough for the two.

When she came at them, the two put their plan into action…Kento had switched over to his nunchuku momentarily catching Kali off-guard. In the time it took her to dodge, Cye had slipped around behind her prepared to get in a decent hit…However, a lurking Raikken managed to prevent him from attacking by seeping out of the shadows and ramming a sword against the Torrent Ronin.

Kali had then jumped over Kento, and slammed him in the back with her sword, knocking him to the ground. She then made her way over to the Torrent Ronin, taking the blunt end of her sword and smashing it against his head…Even though he was wearing full armor, the force of the blow was enough to knock Cye out cold.

She then moved away from the unconscious form, and smirked at the Hardrock Ronin, "Now what will you do Hardrock?"

Kento sucked in a breath; he had no choice if he didn't use his power she would most assuredly kill one of the others, if not all of them at once…But if he did use it, he risked becoming a victim himself…He closed his eyes, maybe if he did become like the other three there was a better chance of solving the problem.

It hadn't worked, though he had put as much effort into his _'Iron Rock Crusher'_ as humanly possible, Kali had succeeded in draining his armor. And now she was undoubtedly leering at him…His eyes were closed because his head was pounding so badly.

"Well now, I'll kill all four of you," The ice demonness chuckled out, merrily.

That was when Kento tried to open his eyes, only to hastily shut them, he growled low in his throat, if only he had enough strength to move his hands!

"Not today you won't," a voice declared, as its owner tackled Kali to the ground.

The ice demonness hissed trying to make for her sword, but the female fighter quickly unsheathed it and tossed it aside. The shadowed attacker managed to get in a good punch, and then released her prey; jumping back into the safety of the surrounding darkness.

Kali hissed enraged, holding her cheek, she recognized the warriors scent; "You again! Answer me this time, who are you?"

"One of the few remaining members of the Great Council; I was told to bring you a message. So listen carefully demon I shall only say it once," the woman said, before continuing, "Know this Akemliek, we shall not sit idly by and let you do as you wish. If and when you break free, we will be prepared to handle the matter accordingly. You have not only the elements chosen to fear, but us as well."

* * *

Kayura had stopped, having easily recognized the voice and who it belonged to; but this message, what did it mean? Hadn't Kaosu and Serenity said the Great Council had long ago been disbanded? She frowned, and clutched the staff, prepared to help the warrior if need be. There was no need to reveal her position now…No it was safer to wait.

The ice demonness hissed again, eyes narrowing into tiny slits, trying to search for this would-be attacker. How could this warrior move around so fast? It wasn't possible, and why was a member of the Great Council using shadows to conceal herself? She would have to talk to her master about this; it made no sense at all.

"What pretty prose," Kali scoffed, and then spit, "You must be joking I am no message girl."

She heard the sound of a dagger or some small weapon being drawn, and before she knew it, the sharp object had embedded itself into her arm. Kali whined in pain, as liquid blue-blood spilled from her arm, and she tried to wrench the object out.

The shadowed warrior chuckled in mirth, "Do not try my patience, demon. That was just a small display of what I can do. I am one of the Council's best assassins, and am not ashamed to put my talents to good use."

With a snarl, Kali vanished, not desiring to receive anymore unnecessary injuries.

The warrior let out a breath, quickly re-appearing next to Hardrock; she placed a hand on his forehead, closed her eyes and concentrated.

Kayura was debating whether or not to show herself, when the Scout commented, "You can stop hiding, she left the area completely."

The Lady Ancient then walked into the clearing, tilted her head and inquired, "What's with the shadows?"

This was in reference to the fact that though she was completely out of the line of the trees shadow, her figure still appeared to be covered by them.

"This way the enemy can't see me, to figure out who I am," She answered quietly, "Something I learned from combining Cale and Dais' training some thousand-or-so years ago."

Kayura knelt down beside the Halo Ronin, letting out a soft sigh, before concentrating on healing the wounded young man. Granted she had been no more than eight when captured by Talpa, but her parents had taught her several basic healing spells. Plus, Kaosu had been training her in the ways of the clan ever since Talpa's defeat.

Kento stirred first, moaning out, "Oh my head."

"You're lucky you still have a head, Shuu," the warrior commented, before moving on to Cye.

The Hardrock Ronin was prepared to go for his weapon, but when he saw that she was not moving in a malicious way, and when he couldn't detect an evil presence about her, he relaxed. Then he noticed that Kayura seemed to be concerned little with the shadowed figure's presence.

"Uh," he began uncertainly, to be cut off by a loud swear from Sage. He then blinked in astonishment, the Halo Ronin very rarely ever cursed, and he had never done so _that_ loudly.

Kayura was slightly taken aback, and had also moved back a little, not having expected the Ronin to react like that.

The Scout meanwhile was chuckling, "Good morning Seiji-san. Have a nice nap?"

"Sorry Kayura," Sage apologized seeing her bewildered look, he had slowly pulled himself to a sitting position, and upon hearing the strange voice he snapped his head to the left, "What?"

"It's okay, she's on our side," Kayura smiled slightly, moving over to where Rowen lay, and went through the motions of preparing to heal him…But to her surprise, he reached out and grabbed her hand, "Don't bother, I'm fine."

She scowled at him, "No you're not. I'm going to at least heal you a little bit. No 'buts'."

Rowen swallowed his protest after hearing the last sentence, and let out an annoyed sigh.

Though Kayura said this shadowed figure was on their side, and though his armor and instinct were telling him she could be trusted, Sage was scowling anyway. She called him by his name…But then again her voice sounded familiar…He wondered…

The Scout shook her head in amusement, "If I wished you harm, I would've let Kali finish you off during your meditation, Sage."

"You! It was you?" He demanded, pulling himself to his feet now, violet eyes narrowing at her.

Cye opened both his eyes, asking curiously, "What's with all the racket?"

"Oh nothing, Halo's had an 'enlightening' of sorts," She chuckled to herself, offering Torrent's bearer her hand.

He shook his head at her in amusement, "You again?" The Ronin of Trust took her hand and hauled himself up, happy when he did not receive any strange and sudden images.

"I just can't stay away," she tossed back at him smirking behind her mask of shadows.

Rowen rolled his eyes skyward, having gotten to his feet and quickly thanking Kayura…If he hadn't said it somehow now, he'd never say it later. It wasn't that easy for him, considering she had once been his rival.

"Well," the warrior paused looking around, "You'll be fine, your guardian can keep an eye on you from here on in." She walked back towards the tree line, "See you around maybe."

"Hey hang on!" Kento protested angrily, having changed back into his everyday attire, "You help us out, and don't leave your name? You know ours, and I mean the ones we were born with. Not the ones we use with our friends and sometimes our family."

"If you had been listening, well if you had actually been conscious," she corrected herself, but was cut off by an irritated Strata Ronin.

"A member of the Great Council, what the heck is that? That only tells us part of what you are, not who," Rowen stated, he hated having to play guessing games.

"The Great Council was once the governing assembly of this world, many things were carried out there; rules, laws, how to handle outside threats to this galaxy," The warrior answered, "I am a member, though I had the least amount of influential power."

"But the elders said it was disbanded," Kayura said, with a frown, "So which is it?"

"They are correct, the Council did dissolve, but many members of it remain. They are the ones who wished for that message to be delivered. Just doing as I was told," She carelessly shrugged, noting now all four Ronin were back in their normal clothing.

"Why won't you show your face?" Sage demanded still glaring at her retreating form, "I have a hard time accepting people I can't see."

Kayura shook her head, giving a small smile, "I think he has a point. You can show yourself to them, you know."

"I can't, you know the rules Lady Kayura," she murmured having slightly picked up her walk now.

"Fine, I give you my permission," the Ancient smirked happily, knowing the terms and conditions that bound the Scout to this certain rule.

She chuckled despite herself, "I thank you, but now is not the time. Perhaps later on."

* * *

"What are you afraid of?" Rowen called out, adding in a lower tone, "Universe."

The warrior halted completely, rather surprised not having expected them to catch onto her this soon…Then again, perhaps she should have, after all they had accomplished much more in this lifetime than any of the others...Meaning their abilities were far along, and perhaps further along than she had at first thought.

"I thought you were alive," Cye commented softly, "The headpiece you wear gave you away."

"The only thing I fear is having the past repeat itself once more," she answered stonily, thinking to herself, _'Of course the jewels would give it away, they normally do.'_ Universe then added, "Yes I live, but no one else must know. If the enemy realizes I am alive…"

"We know we know, the whole planet will be in even more danger," Kento rolled his eyes, "That's always the way it goes."

Sailor Universe bit her lip in thought, and then scanned the surrounding area, sensing no evil presence, she permitted her guise to fall away.

The four young men could do nothing more than gape at her, violet eyes took in their reaction with mirth and the woman crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"You wanted to see me, so pick your jaws up off the floor gentlemen," she chided them with a grin, briefly running a hand through her black-silver hair.

"You…You can't be more than eighteen!" Rowen sputtered out, "How is that possible, you looked twelve in that photo!"

For the first time in a while, she laughed, "You should know by now that even the impossible is possible Strata. Those gifted with the ability to use the elements do not age normally. I appear as this age because that is when my power was at its greatest; once a warrior reaches that point, what was termed their 'peak of power' they stop aging physically."

"That's why Cale and Dais stopped aging," Kayura murmured to herself, not having meant to be heard.

"Yes, and you all should expect the same thing to occur," Universe said.

"You mean," Kento paused a moment before blurting out, "We're immortal!"

She nodded, frowning slightly, "Yes, honestly haven't you learned anything at all yet? What _are_ the elders telling you?"

"Absolutely nothing is what," Cye snorted in annoyance, "They skip around issues and when they get confronted deny anything has happened. They are also implying things that are untruthful."

"Wonderful, they've turned into a mortal government institution," Universe muttered under her breath, saying louder, "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do about that. They will tell you things when they can, and when they think you're ready for it."

"We're ready now!" Rowen snapped in aggravation, taking a step forward, "We have the right to know who we were, and what we were fighting for."

Kayura was surprised at this outburst, not as surprised as she was when Sage and Cye both nodded in agreement.

Universe's heart sank a little, so that was what Kali was using to cause them to doubt themselves like this? She walked back towards them, placing her hand on Strata's shoulder, "Listen to me well, I have known you all, each of you as individuals, for every lifetime. Never once have you changed from the way you are now. You have always been kind and good-hearted people. Don't listen to that poor excuse for an ice sorceress!"

She snorted back a laugh, "She and Thanos haven't even been around before this lifetime! So how would they know anything? The fact is they don't, because if they did, they wouldn't be messing with you now. All of you are much stronger than in the past, and if and when you do acquire the knowledge of your past…Akemliek is going to be very sorry he came here."

"How…," Sage murmured out, looking up at her, "How can you know?"

"I wasn't a stranger before," Universe answered, sighing slightly, removing her grip on Rowen's shoulder, "This lifetime I was not allowed to introduce myself as early as I had in the past ones. Mainly because the evils came later in your lives this time, and the Council was disbanded thus leaving my fate with the elders."

"Since Serenity and Kaosu had no memory of the past, I was forced to leave you to yourselves, and just perform my duty as guardian of the Senshi. Even at that, after Serenity died, and I was presumed dead, she decided to have me stay out of all the Senshi's fights. I think it was perhaps the right call, you all did the fighting without any outside interference; even though, I still feel guilty for not being able to help."

"Not your fault," Kento shrugged slightly, "Maybe because we did all the fighting this time, we are better prepared to fight this Akemliek character."

"I hope so," Universe murmured quietly, "You should probably go now. The others are worried; I can sense their distress from here. You can tell them what I have told you; just leave the parts about me and where you got the information out of the discussion."

"Thanks," Torrent's bearer acknowledged.

The Scout merely gave a slight inclination of her head and then gave a bow, before turning around slowly walking away.

* * *

The warning had hit her senses the moment Universe had prepared to depart; Kayura quickly leapt in the air, knocking down one of the Raikken that had suddenly materialized.

Her eyes widened in shock as she saw one of the archer's had already released his arrow, "Rowen!"

The Ronin of Strata turned around, surprise in his face as he saw the projectile streaming towards him…There was no way he could outrun it, he didn't have the strength to move that fast.

"Get down!" Universe hauled the young man to the ground with her, placing herself in the object's projected path. She swore under her breath when it rammed into her arm, she eyed Strata's bearer with a frown, "You okay?"

"Ya, thanks," Rowen murmured slightly stunned that she had taken the arrow for him.

She smirked, "Good, just don't get used to this 'royal treatment.'" In an instant she was on her feet, scowling, "Hey Kayura, I'll handle these. You're tired from healing the two Ronin."

"And you're not?" The Lady Ancient snapped back, landing on the ground after jumping down from the tree.

"Of course I'm not," She commented sarcastically as she yanked out the arrow in her arm, and closed her eyes; she had to get rid of the Raikken before they could vanish and alert Thanos and Kali as to what they had seen.

The air around her crackled with energy, and the temperature slowly rose to a point where Cye could sense it even though he was fifteen feet away.

"Aleutian," Her eyes snapped open, as shards of ice started to form around her small form, "Silver…" The ice had finished forming, and one could see that what appeared to be fire and molten rock contained within each shard, while electricity cracked around each one.

"Shards!" Universe released the attack by a mere wave of her hand, but kept her concentration up making sure that each projectile hit their intended target and not one of the Ronins by accident.

Once being struck by a shard, the object detonated taking the Raikken with it.

"You didn't miss a single one!" The Hardrock Ronin gaped at the Scout.

Universe got her breathing under control, her body shaking from just using that basic attack…She wasn't supposed to use her abilities, but it had been necessary and she could deal with the side-effect later on.

"That's because my attack isn't a stationary one," She drew herself up, saying quietly; "I can move it as the enemy moves. After ten years I got pretty good at it, and after the first thousand…Well it became much easier to pull off."

They all blinked at her, and she let out a sigh, before turning to her left and glaring into the darkness.

"Who is it?" Kayura asked, jitte already withdrawn and poised for attack.

Universe relaxed slightly, "Wildfire, the other Seasonals, and a handful of the Senshi. Here's where I take my leave. Please, if you are ever in need of me…Just ask for help, or say my name. I'll be there if I can."

With this stated she jumped into the shadow of the nearest tree and vanished from their sight.

The four Ronin Warriors exchanged glances with one another, trying to digest some of what their 'ally' had just told them, and also the fact that she had moved and handled the enemy so expertly. Then again, she had told Kali she was an assassin, and some how none of them could deny it. It was the way she had carried herself, spoken and in the way she had fought that convinced them she was indeed speaking the truth about that.

"Strange character," The Halo Ronin murmured to himself, _'But I am glad she is on our side. Having more enemies would make this ordeal even more tiresome.'_

Rowen was frowning still trying to accept that the Scout had placed herself in harms way for him… _'She is a guardian, so she's supposed to protect, but she's supposed to be the Senshi's guardian and only acts as ours when Kayura needs her too. So why is she helping us so much?'_

He would probably not get an answer to that question for some time to come, but for right now he was glad to know that it was the Sailor helping them out.

* * *

Cye held in a yawn, as the others approached; a frown crossing his face upon seeing how labored Ryo's breathing was.

"Are you all okay?" Wildfire's bearer inquired, worry present in his eyes.

The Hardrock Ronin gave a nod, "Kali beat us up pretty good, but we'll live."

Ryo's heart sank, so he hadn't imagined her presence in this area after all; noting the fact that his four friends were back in their regular clothing (they had powered down after Universe finished off the Raikken) just did further to confirm his fears.

When he looked at Kayura looking for a definitive answer, she gave a nod…Yes; Kali had succeeded in getting to the bearer of Hardrock as well.

The Ronin of Wildfire hung his head, and returned his weapons to the sheaths upon his back. This nightmare just wouldn't end, would it?

Little did he know that from here on in, things were only going to get worse…So much so that it would test the Ronins friendship…One could only hope that the bond would hold through this trial. But, would it?

_A/N: Yeah, you're getting extra chapters. Mainly to make up for my lack of updating on a set schedule. Also because I want to get the other books up on ffnet soon. :)_


	26. Chapter 25: The Raw Truth

**Chapter Twenty-Five: **

"**The Raw Truth"**

They were immortal…That's what Kayura had announced to them all, having finished a long discussion with the elders. Angry as to what was happening to her charges the Lady Ancient had taken it upon herself to get some sort of answers to this mess which would soon turn into a catastrophe if something wasn't done.

That was true; after Sailor Universe's startling revelation, Kayura had gone to the elders demanding information on everything the Scout had told them (without implicating the warrior in anyway). This way when Kayura was asked where the information came from, she could answer honestly…It would not look too good if the Lady Ancient was caught outright lying, the Scouts might take it as an act of hostility or something bizarre like that.

Ryo let out a sigh, Kayura had also told them who and what the Great Council was, and why it had been disbanded, though several of its members still existed. Though she had been unable to find out how many there were and who they were. He gave her credit for trying though, and that's all he could do at this point being far too tired to do anything else.

For some reason he felt his chest tighten and anger course through his veins whenever the term 'Great Council' was used, and even with the brief overview the Lady Ancient gave them…Well he couldn't help but question why he was reacting this way.

The Great Council was comprised of maybe hundreds of beings, including the elders…Some were human, others only partly, and the rest were something different altogether.

It was the Great Council's job to make laws, and to prevent any of those gifted by the elements, planets, and/or seasons from gaining too much power. It was also their job to ensure great evils would not threaten to overtake this galaxy.

From what the warriors could figure, Akemliek had thrown a rather large wrench in that plan, causing the members of the council to look to the chosen ones (or the Elders as they were now called) to solve the problem. When they couldn't, the responsibility fell to their descendants…Ryo let out a sigh closing his eyes slightly; maybe that's what was bothering him, the fact that they hadn't really had much of a choice in the matter.

Wildfire's bearer snorted he knew better than that, that wasn't the reason for his anger. It was due to the fact that, not only had he and the others failed to destroy Akemliek twice prior, the Great Council had done nothing to aide them. The Council had been so worried about the negative affects the powers of the planets and armors could have on this galaxy, that they instituted so many rules preventing the warriors from ever having a chance at winning.

He couldn't figure out why or how he knew that, Ryo just knew. He also knew that was part of their reason for disbanding, that and the fact someone had called their erroneous ways into question.

He let out a low moan, as he was struck with another headache. It was getting worse; they were coming more frequently and ended up lasting for quite a long time now. Ryo was unsure just how much more of this he could handle before he caved into the pressure being exerted upon his mind and body.

Wildfire's bearer tried to keep his thoughts clear as they were becoming severely muddled, he needed something to focus on…Time, he needed to keep track of the time perhaps that would help some.

How long had it been? Two days since the attack on Kento, yes that was right…And Kayura had visited the elders last night. Ryo closed his eyes and tried to calm his breathing, he just needed to calm down that was all. Right now the house was mostly empty; most of the warriors were at work, or out goofing off.

He was in what was dubbed the 'Ronin room' currently, having tried to read something to get his mind off his current worries and fears; he had given up when the headache had hit him full force. He had made his way onto the porch, before the pain hit him again, and he leaned heavily against the door frame.

The Wildfire Ronin tried to tell himself to stay calm, to keep his breathing in check that this pain would too subside…But, the intervals between these 'fits' he'd been having were getting shorter, and there was no denying it.

When he opened his eyes, he was unable to focus and it felt as though the room was spinning around him…Then everything went completely and utterly dark.

* * *

She wasn't quite sure why she was here now, maybe because she knew the vast majority of the house's occupants were out, and there was less of a chance she'd get into a confrontation with someone.

Elayne paused, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, as of late all she seemed to be able to do was argue with the Sailor Scouts…On everything. She was tired of their treating her like a porcelain doll, she may be no warrior but she knew how to take care of herself, and was not appreciating their constant poking and prodding.

To be honest, the girl wasn't that happy with the Ronin Warriors either; instead of defending her they went along with the Senshi's plans without much thought. Then again they probably did so just to shut the women up, even Elayne knew how annoying the fickle females could be at times. Still and all, it would be nice if someone took her side on things.

She rolled her hazel-violet eyes, in that case she might as well keep dreaming…The girl doubted very much anyone was going to stand up for her anytime soon. In her own opinion, she could be a bother and a nuisance; and she knew her sarcasm was often imperious…But even with all of that, couldn't someone at least recognize the fact she was her own individual person and that she could be of some help?

"It's not like bringing them all together was_ my_ idea," Elayne commented to herself, as she slowly walked up the stairs.

The elders had approached her, after exhausting every avenue available to them, she hadn't been that happy to be used as a last resort. However, she had still offered her services, and after completing the job she barely got a thank-you for it, not to mention she was cast aside like yesterday's newspaper.

Maybe that's why she liked the Seasonals so much, while she was mortal and far weaker than them, they treated her fairly. They did not doubt her ability to take care of herself, and were not afraid to share information with her.

It was sort of amusing to Elayne, the former bad guys trusted her more than those who had been fighting on the side of good from the get-go…Did that make sense to anyone? Or was she the only one lost on the matter?

The girl let out a sigh, having made it to the second floor landing, and then stopped moving all together, as the crystal began to violently chime.

She looked at the ancient treasure in alarm, "What is it, what's wrong?"

It only reacted like that when one of the warriors was in some form of trouble, but who could be in any danger at this time of the day? Kali and Thanos had made it so that most of the fights were at night, when the darkness and cold were to their advantage.

An image briefly flashed in her head, and she momentarily froze trying to clear her mind to identify what it had been. A look of confusion crossed her face as she inquired aloud, "Ryo?"

The crystal gave a louder chime as if to answer her, and Elayne shook off her momentary shock and walked straight to the Ronins room. She knocked only to be polite, and then threw the door open.

"Hey! Ryo, are you even here? Or is this stupid ornament…." Hazel-eyes scanned the room, settling on the limp figure leaning against the door frame.

"What on earth!" She gasped out rushing over, quickly putting her hands on his shoulders in order to shake him awake.

When she got no response, a scowl formed on her face as she checked his forehead, "He has a fever and an exceptionally high one at that…This can't be a good sign."

As she made move to check his pulse to see if it was in anyway abnormal, he opened his eyes and let out a low moan.

"Ryo?" She inquired in a low voice, assuming that he had a headache, "Can you see me, correctly?"

"Huh," He blinked a few times totally lost as to what she meant.

"Dummy, I'm asking you if your vision is off. Is it fuzzy, are you seeing doubles, what?"

The Ronin leader took a deep breath, "My vision is fine, but I get dizzy when I move at all…Guess I'm just light-headed."

Elayne shut her mouth with a snap; she could have _so _made a comment on that one, but seeing that he was sick she decided it was unfair to pick on him.

At that point White Blaze came bolting into the room, having been out on a walk when he felt his master's distress, and gave a small whine as he nudged Ryo's hand with his nose.

"Hey buddy," Wildfire's bearer acknowledged, as he leaned more heavily against the door and closed his eyes trying to fight off the pain in his head.

The girl frowned after a few minutes of silence passed, then broke it; "It's the armors causing this, isn't it? It's because of the others being how they are."

Ryo let out a sigh, and gave a slight nod, "Dais thinks it's because of the Inferno. Since that armor had no sole guiding virtue, but relied on all five together…The other four virtues probably left some sort of impression on mine. With the guys being out of commission, their virtues are relying on me. Because if anything happens to the guys, the virtues will be lost…Possibly forever, unless they somehow find new bearers."

Elayne bit her lip, "There's got to be a way to keep the virtues from overdoing it, Ryo they'll end up killing you! You have to convince them to knock it off."

"How do you propose I do that?" the Wildfire Ronin demanded in annoyance, though he kept his voice low so as to not aggravate his headache any further.

"Look you managed to convince the armors that either they followed the virtues, or they needed to hit the road; have the armors convince the virtues to stay in line," The girl stated, asking, "If it worked one way, why won't it work the other?"

"They told you about Mukara and the Black Inferno?" He asked in minor amusement.

She shrugged, "I told ya before they told me everything; I became their person to lean on, just because I was 'outside' of the issue but knew very well the subject was real. While anyone and everyone else they told thought it was a joke aside from their families, I knew it wasn't…And while the guys needed to have people to joke around with, they needed someone who could be serious about it too. Plus any idiot would assume there was another armor; there's a yin and a yang to everything…Two parts to the same coin, there can't be balance if there's only one."

Ryo shook his head and suppressed a chuckle, "You think too much. I'll be fine; I doubt I could 'convince' the armors or the virtues if I could even talk to them."

Elayne glowered at him, "I bet if someone other than me had suggested it, you'd actually take the advice."

"Oh no wait it's not that," Ryo began to protest, but she ignored him saying haughtily, "I doubt anyone else would have a problem dealing with this. The virtues are stepping over the line, and need to stop!"

The crystal flashed for a moment, the red embers within it glowing brightly, before it stopped chiming and went silent.

The Wildfire Ronin had felt a strange warmth flow through him, and the minute the humming jewel quieted, the pain was gone.

He opened his eyes and stared at the girl, "Elayne! What did you do?"

"I…" Her face was slightly pale, and she swallowed nervously, "Have no clue and don't think I want to know anyway."

White Blaze let out another whimper, this time rubbing against the girl, brown eyes inquiring as to whether she was all right.

"Fine boy," She answered affectionately scratching the tiger behind his ear, "I guess the crystal took me seriously. 'Bout time somebody did." Elayne got to her feet, offering Ryo her hand.

The young man grasped it, allowing her to help him get to his feet; once standing Ryo went back to leaning against the door, finding his body still ached.

The girl leaned forward, so that she was on her tip-toes, and reached up placing her hand against his forehead; she frowned a little, "Still have a fever, oh well guess the jewelry can't cure illness…"

Ryo quickly clamped a hand over her mouth, glaring at her, "Don't even _think_ about continuing that sentence."

'_You're such an old man,' _She commented mentally, _'You're no fun anymore!'_

He narrowed his blue-eyes at her in annoyance, and sighed heavily through his nose, "Thanks for whatever you did, but what are you doing here?"

She glowered at him once more, having removed his hand and stated icily, "It's _my_ house, I shouldn't need an invitation."

"Hey calm down," The Wildfire Ronin soothed gently, "What happened to ruffle your feathers?"

"Oh my _darling cousin_ that's what," Elayne nearly hissed out, "I_ hate_ her, she's such an obnoxious pig. Telling me what I can and can't do, that I shouldn't be here or there. OH! I'd rather deal with Yayoi than put up with her!"

Ryo snorted back a laugh at how the girl made reference to Sage's elder sister, who at times could be very exasperating; "Don't let her get to you."

"That's kind of hard to do when she pulls these arguments in front of the other Scouts, and they take her side!" The girl spat, roughly brushing past him to go out on the porch.

The Ronin leader blinked, and exchanged a look with White Blaze…Ryo had almost forgotten that Elayne's temper was about as bad as his; he was just starting to remember now.

"Hey," He let out a sigh; leave it to her to choose to be emotionally distressed when he wasn't feeling well, "You want to talk about it?"

She shook her head, staring out at the forest; "Forget about it, okay? You have more important things on your mind; the guys are your main concern right now. My problems are my own to deal with, and they're really small compared to what you have to put up with."

"Look the guys are my family, but you were once too," Ryo stated calmly, "As far as I am concerned you still are. And if there's anything I can do…"

She smiled a little, and turned around murmuring, "Well, there is one thing."

"And that is?" He raised an eyebrow, and waited for her to answer.

"Be careful," Elayne murmured quietly, and looked up, "I have this feeling that whatever is wrong with the guys is going to come to a head and soon. I don't know how I know…Maybe it's the crystal…All I know is when it does happen it won't be pretty. I'm worried for you Ryo, I really am."

"I'll be fine," the Wildfire Ronin wasn't as confident as he sounded, but he had to act that way for her sake; if she was worried there was a good reason for it, "Don't stress yourself out over it, all right? We'll figure out what's wrong with them and fix it, I promise."

She gave him a quick hug, momentarily throwing him off-guard, "Thanks, but don't over-due it. If anything happens to you I don't know how the guys will take it, I'm not sure they'd be able to hold together."

"How would you manage?" He teased her with a smirk.

When he said that, she reached up and checked his temperature again, "Yup, you're definitely better now. I'd find someone else to annoy in your place."

She quickly ruffled his hair, and then shot out the door, calling over her shoulder, "Later boys!"

Ryo and White Blaze stared after her, and then exchanged somewhat bewildered looks.

"I forgot she was _that_ moody," Wildfire's bearer sheepishly commented; the majestic tiger merely rolled his eyes in response.

* * *

"Tadaima!" Rini cheerfully called bursting through the door, a pre-occupied Elayne a step or two behind her.

The small child paused, a frown on her face, "Another fight?"

The warriors were all spread out in the living room, some being bandaged others just idly sitting there, but each looked up and nodded.

Elayne focused on those around her and she let out a whistle, "Geez, you all are pretty popular, huh? This makes it the fourth night in a row without a break."

Kayura shook her head in amusement, "I don't think it's because we are popular."

Elayne shrugged her shoulders lightly in response, but immediately turned her head in the direction of the five Ronin Warriors.

The Lady Ancient saw this and frowned, with the way the girl had whipped her head…It was almost as though she had sensed something that she didn't like.

Elayne was close to scowling, the feeling she had caught unnerved her to say the least…She wasn't at all comfortable with it, nor with what she had learned no more than a few hours ago. But here, well it was possible she was over-reacting slightly…Her mind had not been at ease since August, when she began seeing things once more.

She had thought she understood why this was happening, had blamed it on the crystal being with Universe for so long…Elayne had figured it was inadvertently allowing her to see the woman's memories. She was starting to see more and more of the fight, but she would always wake-up at the point where Universe shouted 'no.' But now, now with what she had overheard the elders say…She didn't know what to think anymore.

The girl closed her eyes for a moment, and let out a shaky breath willing herself to calm down…There was also the added fact that she was catching more glimpses of the future and for longer periods. What she was seeing was _terrifying_ her, and there was no one she could go to.

Elayne crossed her arms in front of her chest took a deep breath, and stared directly at the Halo Ronin as she inquired, "Why?"

Sage gave a slight shake of his head, coming out of his thoughts to shoot a glare at her, " 'Why' what?"

Elayne quickly bristled, the images playing over in her mind, "Don't play an idiot with me Date, I know you better than that."

The Torrent Ronin gave a low snort, but the girl caught it and turned her gaze to him.

"Same goes for you," she kept her gaze steady, eyes unblinking, "Minna-san! Why are you doing this? Why are you hesitating, do you _want_ the enemy to kill you?"

Rowen shot her a nasty look, "You were watching us?"

"No, but it doesn't mean I haven't seen it," she tossed back at him, hearing the tone of annoyance in his voice.

"It's no concern of yours," the Ronin of Halo finally answered, looking up at her with a scowl on his face.

"Why can't you just say what's wrong?" The girl demanded, changing her tactic slightly, "You're letting this eat you alive, Sage! You all are!"

The four young men had already started walking up the stairs, obviously not enjoying being confronted with this situation…But the girl was not going to let them off the hook so easily.

"Wait!" She shouted at them, emotion tinged throughout her voice, "Why won't you answer? What has gotten you so frightened? Tell me!"

Rowen paused a brief moment, the look in his eyes conveying, _'you wouldn't understand, even if I did tell you.'_

Elayne clenched her fists at her sides, and snapped (her temper at its breaking-point), "_Samurai Troopers! _Stop running away, I demand an answer from you!"

"Mei mei," Kento warned trying to make her see she needed to let the matter drop.

The blonde swordsman glared at the stubborn girl, icily stating, "The reason we won't answer you, is because _you don't belong here_. This matter doesn't pertain to you."

Elayne stood stock still, the words cutting far deeper than Sage had originally intended…If he only knew. The shock and hurt upon hearing the dreaded words caught her, but she would not let him have the last word…Not with what she had seen, she couldn't let that be the end of it.

"How_ pathetic_, the great and mighty Ronin Warriors, now nothing more than a couple of measly cowards. What a waste."

All she heard was the door to their room slamming shut, for she had ducked down her head to blink back the oncoming tears.

"Wait, they didn't…" Rei began, she had known the girl a while and never before had she seen Elayne so...torn.

The girl held up her hand taking in a trembling breath, "Don't even try it; you don't want me here, _either_," she walked over to the door and slipped back on her shoes.

"Elayne," Ryo began, having been trying to think of something to say during the previous conversation but coming up blank, "Look you know…"

"Remember what I told you earlier today?" She turned to him, and he could see fear and worry present in her eyes, "It'll happen soon…The foul energy is stronger now. There's no need to try and wave off what was said, they're right."

She walked over to the door and opened it saying with a sigh, "I don't belong here I _never_ did. Meeting some of you was chance; the rest was either an accident or the crystal's doing. I already played the small part I had, but I can't help but feel I should be doing more. But none of you want me around anyway so there's no point in trying, ne?"

* * *

The door shut behind her with a soft click, and she paused a moment before walking off the porch into the soft rain that had started to fall.

It matched her mood almost perfectly…She had always liked rain, for some reason it made her feel calmer and slightly better. Elayne bit down on her lip and tried desperately to blink back the oncoming tears, Sage's words echoing in her head.

"You're right Nii-chan," she whispered softly, "I don't belong here."

_"So, is this true also then?" Kayura asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion._

_"Yes," the Ancient answered calmly, "We thought it strange that we actually did find someone to be the link between the warriors."_

_"At first we blamed it on mere luck, but going over it, how easy it was to put her into the Senshi's lives," Serenity shook her head, "And the fact she knew the Ronins previous to our acquiring our memories…Well, it only makes sense that Elayne is not from this time originally."_

_Hazel-violet eyes widened in shock, and the girl held her breath as she continued to listen…She had been pacing the forest, it was something she did when she was worried or pre-occupied. She hadn't realized she had gone straight to the clearing where Kaosu and Serenity frequented. _

_Hearing Kayura talk with the two elders wasn't surprising to her, but the one thing she had heard Serenity say had caused her to stop dead in her tracks…And naturally she wanted to know more. Now, as she listened in, she was starting to regret it._

_"We have talked with the little ones, as well as the Time Guardian," the Ancient murmured, "This Elayne was not involved in the past lifetime…She may have existed, but she did not know any of the warriors. However, it is more likely she was transplanted into this time from another one."_

_"Her purpose here was to fill the large gap breaching the warriors, in order to allow the future a better start. Last time, according to Pluto things were much different, in fact they were worse," Queen Serenity sighed._

_"But who would place her here?" Kayura demanded slightly aghast, "Who would do such a thing?"_

_"The Cimmerian Crystal has been known to act of its own accord before," the Ancient eyed his descendant, "It is very possible it placed her here in order to change what it knew was coming. The crystal might appear an inanimate object but it is as alive as you, it has the knowledge of past, present and future. If it saw a bad end coming, it would change it."_

_"I thought it was a dark object though?" the Lady Ancient still couldn't understand what she was hearing._

_"Though it is dark, it is anything but evil. It has always worked for the good of the universe, not the evil of it," Serenity explained, "If it placed Elayne here, then it did so for a good reason."_

_"But what now?" Kayura asked softly, "She brought the warriors together, was there for them when they needed her…What will she do now? Will it permit her to live a normal life?"_

_"That's something we can't answer…"_

The girl suddenly shivered as she realized how cold it was outside now, having finished going over what had occurred some six hours before. She inwardly berated herself for leaving her coat in the house…But there was no point in going back for it now.

Elayne's whole life had been made up…Or, at least a good part of it. She had no memory prior to meeting Ryo and his father at the age of three, which meant someone or the crystal, had gone through an awful lot of trouble modifying memories to place her here.

Her ambitions? Were those even real? Somehow she couldn't find an answer to that question, and she wasn't sure she wanted one.

Her friends, rather her older brothers…Those two things she knew were real, even if the crystal had forced her to know them in the first place. But what was killing her, what made everything hurt so much more than it already did? It was the fact that she couldn't help the only family she had in their current predicament; and she hated being completely useless.

If the crystal had thought it so important to make her the link, then why couldn't it have given her the power to do something? She glowered at the jewel for a moment, before staring in alarm and taking another breath.

It hadn't been cold enough for her to see her breath when she had left the house, but now it was. The girl came to a full halt, eyes widening in shock as she realized what was occurring…She could feel the warmth of the jewel around her neck and hear its soft warning, as well as feel a familiar presence.

_'Raikken, again,' _she thought bitterly having had a run in with them trying to escort Rini back to the property…And then she sensed something she couldn't quite recognize.

_'It has to be one of those ice demons,' _Elayne swallowed a bit nervously, sliding into a defensive stance, calling, "All right I sense you, come out."

Kali let out a chuckle, materializing in front of the young human a smirk on her face, "Well, what do we have here?" She noticed the way the girl had taken up a ready position, and chuckled.

"What do you want?" Elayne growled low in her throat, eyes hatefully narrowing at the form.

Kali gave a smug grin, "My brother and I are very curious about you. The elders used you as the link, and you seem to possess the rare jewel, the Cimmerian Crystal. Not to mention the fact you deal with the Raikken we send after you."

"So you're behind that?" Elayne scowled, "I thought the clowns were just doing it of their own accord."

"We are now having you watched," Kali gave that malicious smile of her's, "You are a person of interest to us. Though right now our main focus is the warriors, don't think we won't deal with you too. You are on our list."

"You came here to threaten me?" The girl was not impressed, "Tell me something, what did you do to my oniichans?"

"Oh I would be more worried about you," The ice demonness smirked, drawing her sword.

'_What do I do?' _The girl bit her lip, keeping emotion out of her face like she had been trained to do, _'I can't even hope to compete against her. She'll kill me before I can try to make a move.' _

'_Don't panic, I'll help you,' _a voice broke in softly.

* * *

Ryo stared at the door for a few minutes, before turning angry eyes to the stairwell…He quickly got up said stairs, and paced down the hall throwing open the door and barging into the room seething.

The Halo Ronin looked up at the sudden intrusion, a mortified expression on his face, "I didn't mean for it to come out that way."

Wildfire's bearer only slightly calmed down, seeing that the man regretted his earlier words; "Why say anything at all then?"

"I don't want her here Ryo," Sage stiffly stated, "By hanging around us she places herself in danger."

Rowen sighed a little, "Ya the enemy might see her and go after her, we can't take that risk."

"You should have told her that then," Ryo stated coolly, "Instead of trouncing on her like that. You really cut into her."

"We know that," Torrent's bearer broke in, "But if we had done it kindly, do you think she would have listened?"

"Probably not," The Wildfire Ronin smiled, "It's Elayne we are talking about, but you should have at least tried. She left here in tears you guys."

The four exchanged anxious glances with one another, obviously they had not intended for it to go that far.

A knock on the door caught their attention, and Rini entered the room slightly out of breath.

Kento looked at the girl and frowned, "What's the matter, kiddo?"

"One of you has to go after Elayne!" She blurted out, standing up straight.

* * *

Elayne froze not recognizing the voice at first, but soon she placed it with that of the one from her dreams, _'Universe? You help me, why?'_

'_Because I could use your help, but that's not important at this moment, ' _the warrior responded, _'I am aware of the fact that the crystal gives you access to my memories, therefore you have access to my fighting knowledge. Close your eyes and concentrate.'_

The girl did as she was told, feeling an odd sensation roll over her…

Kali chuckled, "Oh you're going to let me kill you? How kind!" She then launched herself forward, and made a swipe with her sword.

"Not a chance, I'm not giving in to you!" Elayne snapped, opening her eyes and jumped to the side, then twisted her body to avoid the follow-up strike. She performed a back hand-spring to put distance between herself and Kali, and let out a shaky breath.

'_Good!' _Universe praised,_ 'You definitely have something. Keep your guard up, she'll use any trick to catch you. I'm trying to make someone aware of the fact you're in danger…I'm not having any luck.'_

'_I can hold out for fifteen minutes at the most,' _Elayne told the Scout, asking _'Why do you need my help?'_

'_You and I are linked through the Cimmerian Crystal, what I've seen and felt, you are able to experience now,' _The Sailor commented quietly, _'In the same way I can see what you have. I want you to be my eyes and ears, I can't often keep tabs on the warriors it's too risky, but if I were to do it through someone else…'_

'_You'd have less risk of being caught,'_ Elayne finished ducking under Kali's sword, and rolling out of the line of fire.

The girl let out a bitter chuckle, _'Sure why not? If the crystal shoved me into this lifetime, I might as well make the most of it.'_

The Scout was silent for a few moments, either she didn't know that fact or she did and knew Elayne wasn't supposed to; _'Thank you, I am in your debt.'_

Kali stopped suddenly eyeing the girl, "Well, it's been fun, but I must leave the Raikken to tend with you. My Master awaits me." In moments she was gone, and the Raikken that had been lingering in the shadows came forth.

In her over-exhausted and injured state, Elayne couldn't hope to cope with one Raikken let alone the three that were now advancing on her…She was _really_ beginning to regret getting up that morning.

She tried to keep herself calm, dropping down to her knees snatching the knife she kept hidden in her right boot with her left hand…She quickly charged, jamming the blade up underneath the Raikken's helmet, piercing where a human's throat would've been.

Elayne then pushed off of it to land behind one of the others, and barely managed to catch her breath before finding herself on the defensive. A roar took her slightly off guard, but she was quick to recover it as a bundle of white-and-black striped fur tackled the Raikken in front of her.

The girl was quick to perform a backward somersault to get out of his way, as well as that of the last Raikken.

White Blaze quickly slashed at the one he had pinned, then moved and placed himself in-between Elayne and the remaining enemy.

"At least someone still cares about whether I live or die," the girl remarked breathlessly, "Thanks boy."

'_You're welcome,' _he rumbled out, eyes narrowing venomously at his opponent; he gave another angry roar and then charged. However, this Raikken would not go down so easily…It was of a higher rank, and it would take more than just brute strength to beat it.

As it struck out at him, Blaze dodged and then whirled sending it clattering to the ground with a swift stroke of his paw.

* * *

"Rini, the way we handled the situation was harsh," Rowen murmured, "But, we can't have Elayne hanging around, it isn't safe."

"I don't care about that," the child gritted out in annoyance, "No one downstairs would even try to listen to me. Elayne's hurt, someone needs to check on her!"

"What?" The five young men asked in unison.

Rini sighed heavily through her nose silently thankful someone had decided to listen, "On our way back, a Raikken showed up…It caught me off-guard and Elayne ended up shielding me. Her left shoulder took the brunt of the blow, and got completely tore up! We were late in getting here because we stopped by the Estate and she changed her clothes; that's why she's wearing a darker shirt, so none of you would notice incase the wound bled through."

"I don't believe her," Ryo growled low in his throat.

The girl looked at the Wildfire Ronin, confused by the reaction. So she sought further to explain things, "She didn't want you to worry; that's all. Elayne's been dodging the Raikken for a while, so she's used to getting hurt. According to what she told Hotaru and myself…Well, they've been following her since she met up with the Elementals."

The Strata Ronin blinked in confusion, "And all this time she hasn't said anything to anyone of us?"

Rini shrugged her shoulders, "She said it was her job to protect the Cimmerian Crystal since its previous owners were gone, therefore she was willing to deal with anyone that tried coming after it. She didn't think it was fair to involve any one else; especially since you all have had the fate of the world to worry about."

"Plus, it's not like they can kill her…The Cimmerian Crystal will only respond to those that are blood-related to Universe's family. Elayne's the last one left in the blood-line, so if they killed her the crystal would be worthless."

The five young men were quiet for a few minutes trying to digest the new information they had just received.

Many thoughts were running through their heads, but the one thing they could not willingly accept is the fact the girl had never told them she was being hunted; nor could they comprehend the fact that she had been dodging the demons since she was ten-years-old.

"I'll go and check on her," Ryo muttered shaking his head to clear it. Before he could move, he abruptly turned his attention to the window having detected negative energy, "What the…"

With what came next, everyone in the house became alarmed; for a familiar voice screamed out in alarm and panic, "White Blaze!"

So Kali had masked her presence and that of the Raikken, and gone for the single person involved with the warriors that couldn't adequately defend herself; Elayne.

The only one to catch on was the tiger; and now the warriors could only hope that they weren't too late to be of help.

Elayne was breathing hard, having barely managed to avoid having her head chopped off. Kali had formed a beam of dark energy in her palm and then shot it at the tiger…The demonness had only pretended to slip off, she'd been watching and waiting the entire time.

Now that the white tiger was out cold, that left Elayne on her own...Kali had no intentions of killing the girl, and she really didn't enjoy torturing innocent people…But this person was tied to the warriors, meaning if Kali hurt her, she'd hurt them too.

Kali could find no better way to prove how useless those inflected with her spell were, than to have them turn on someone who cared for their well-being and have that someone get injured because of the cold words. She had been waiting for such an altercation to occur between the Ronins and the girl, and now that it had she was very pleased.

_'They heard you,' _Universe murmured, doing as much as she could…The warrior could only do so much, without directly intervening…At this point, the girl was in need of direct intervention.

'_I know, but that's not good enough,' _Elayne panted, _'I'm not going to last more than five minutes! It's two against one here with Kali's cheating!'_

'_You're just going to have to try.'_

Suddenly a thought struck her, and Elayne berated herself for not thinking of it before. There was one reason why Kali and the Raikken could not enter the house, or come too close to it…Spells had been laid on the property and the surrounding area centuries ago to ward off demons, and with the jewel around her neck she could all too easily access and use them now.

Elayne's eyes slipped shut and she concentrated, the Cimmerian Crystal easily took over from there. With a violent chime and flash of red light, it activated the power that up until this point had lain dormant and untouched.

Once the barrier was instated pure light sprang up from the ground causing the Raikken to disintegrate, and Kali to teleport away…From here on in the boundary surrounding both mansion and estate would stay activated, not allowing the Raikken or ice demons close enough to cause innocents harm.

Elayne went crashing to her knees, if she wasn't tired before she was past being spent at this point…As the adrenaline faded it was replaced with the fear that should've overtaken her before…The fear that she could've been killed.

But she was quick to push it aside and bury her face into White Blaze's fur the moment he got over to her, "Thanks."

'_Are you all right?' _the tiger was worried, it was present in his face when she pulled back to study him.

"I'm not hurt, but I'm not all right either," she offered the cat a wry grin; "It hasn't been a very good day."

'_Agreed, I don't think that it has been,' _White Blaze chuckled before rubbing against her again.

Elayne was prepared to say something else, but a darkened scowl quickly crossed her features, and she muttered, "Great, the peanut gallery has arrived."

This was in reference to the several people calling out her name in worried tones…She took a deep breath and calmed herself down; she was hurt, angry and exhausted and if she wasn't careful she was going to blow-up at the warriors.

"Are you all right?" Kayura inquired softly, looking around for the enemy even though she could sense nothing.

The girl sighed through her nose, "I'll live this time." Elayne drew herself up slowly, and managed to stand, her breath having finally returned.

Ryo looked at the girl worriedly, "Elayne, what happened?"

"Oh I don't know," she murmured out voice dripping with anger and sarcasm, "Would any of you happen to know a skimpily-dressed ice demonness? And if you do, was that _also_ one of the things you decided _**I didn't need to know**_?"

"Elayne…" Cye began in a soft voice.

The girl glared at him heatedly, "Save it! I don't care what you have to say, you've already told me to take a hike. I was in the process of doing so, before that idiot intruded. So if you guys don't mind, I'll get going."

"Hold on," Lita broke in quickly, "Just relax, okay? What did you do to get her to leave?"

"Yes, and there were Raikken too…" Michelle brought up, watching in surprise as the girl picked up a dagger and placed it back in her boot.

"Blaze took care of most of it," Elayne responded, looking back at them from over her shoulder, "All I did was activate the barrier; it's been here for centuries. The only thing is that it extends forty-feet out from the house on all sides; it's a bit more with the estate but not much. You go past that point, and it cannot protect you."

"Rini said you had a clash with Raikken before," Rowen brought in quietly.

Elayne winced and turned completely around to face them; did he really find it necessary to blurt that out in front of everyone?

"Elayne?" Aurora asked slightly in alarm, "Is that true? If it is, if they're coming after you again…"

"Orey! Shut-up," the girl shot her friend a scandalous look, they had discussed this! The Ronins and other Senshi didn't need to know about the issues that she and the Elementals had encountered with the Raikken previously. "Kali admitted to me that while I'm not of great importance right now, I am a person of interest."

Callista frowned deeply, "That's still not good."

"It's better than dealing with the rogue Raikken," Elayne fired back, adding, "I'm not staying here so you all can keep a hawk-eye on me. I'm a big girl and can handle myself; I don't want or need you to baby-sit me."

"What are you being so hostile for?" Rei demanded, the words that were coming out of Elayne's mouth were like pure venom.

The girl let out a sigh dropping the façade she'd been hiding behind, and murmured softly, "Because the last thing you all need is something else to protect. You've enough problems as it is, you don't need me here. I'm nothing more than a nuisance as it is."

"That's not true!" the Ronin of Wildfire protested.

Kayura held up her hand for silence, effectively cutting off any retort Elayne might have had.

"You and I need to talk," the Lady Ancient had thought it strange for the girl to be acting this dejected. Sage's words had been harsh, but it shouldn't have bothered her this much. Not unless she had overheard Kayura's earlier conversation with the elders; and the woman was starting to think the girl had heard everything.

Elayne let out a sigh through her nose, and surrendered if only momentarily, "Fine." The girl rounded on her heel and stiffly walked back to the mansion, White Blaze immediately at her side.

Ryo frowned as he watched this, as an image of a woman with ebony-and-silver hair and a black tiger at her side came to his mind's eye. Yet they were walking away from wherever it was, not towards. He shook his head slightly; closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again…The image was gone.

A memory of the past had brushed across his senses; even though he did not realize it at the time.


	27. Chapter 26: Slipping Past Sanity's Rim

Chapter Twenty-Six:

**Chapter Twenty-Six: **

"**Slipping Past Sanity's Rim"**

A violent storm had moved in, covering the nation's capital like a thick heavy blanket, suffocating those beneath it. The wind whipped through the trees causing them to sway dangerously, and lightning sparked from the sky keeping everyone indoors. This was the atmosphere that set the emotions of negativity to come to a head. Last night had perhaps been only a warning as of what was to come on this day. No one would put it past Kali to have planned such an attack, and then let _this_ happen.

The Scouts earlier shouting match was not forgotten easily by Ryo Sanada, who felt disgusted by his four friends' actions. He was starting to doubt whether he could call them friends anymore; they had changed from the people he had known, becoming darker, and, perhaps, to an extent lethal. The men he had known for, almost, the past ten years of his life, had goaded, no they had started the Scouts onto a path that ended up in one of the ugliest and largest brawls he had ever seen.

It had taken the combined strength of the Sailor Elementals, Serena, Trista, and Kayura to get the six warring females to stop their fighting. The Seasonals had wisely kept to their room, being able to sense the dark emotions well enough to know they needed to steer clear. Hotaru, Darien and Rini had also been upstairs at the time, so they hadn't seen the fighting, but Ryo knew for a fact they heard it.

With all of the racket that had been made, he was sure every being within an eight thousand mile radius had heard those girls carry on. After breaking up the fight, each leader had snapped to their teammates to book-it to the rooms, and pronto. Aurora and her teammates had glared none too kindly at their respective elemental partners before leaving for their own room, Kayura shaking her head and following.

Now…Now angry vivid blue eyes bore down on the four approaching figures, Ryo had put himself so that he was blocking their route of escape. This was far from over; Ryo was going to let his true temper show through, no matter what the cost. He had to urge whatever speck of his friends' former selves' existed to break through the chaos now in near clear possession of their minds.

Sage was at the lead, and came to a halt, "Ryo?" The voice had an icy coolness to it, and sounded extremely disinterested.

"What the _**hell **_were you four thinking?" Ryo's shouting echoed throughout the hall, and leaked through the thin walls, so everyone heard him quite clearly. His eyes were narrowed into angry slits at his four friends even though he was fighting to keep his temper still in check.

The second floor was set up in this way, the first floor staircase ended in the center of a long hallway. To one's left, about four feet away, was the room that Darien and the Ronin Seasonals shared. On the opposite side of the hall, about two feet down perhaps, was the room that the Outer Scouts had chosen. There were several doors that held nothing but memorabilia, until the hallway ended the door at the end of the hall leading into the study.

On the right side, six feet away, was the room the Inner Scouts resided in. Directly across from them, about five and a half feet down, was the room Kayura and the Sailor Elementals shared. The Ronins room was at the end of this hall, before the second set of stairs which led to the third floor.

Aurora opened the door just enough for her, Kirstin, Vanessa, and Callista to stick their heads out without drawing too much attention. Kayura watched over their shoulders, with baited breath, this was not going to be pretty.

Cye gave a shrug of his shoulders, "Don't know what you're talking about."

Ryo narrowed his eyes even further, if it were possible, "That's a lie. You know exactly what I'm talking about. How could you lead them on like that? You four practically started that fight!"

"All we did," Sage brought his icy-cold eyes up from the floor to glare at his leader, "Was lay everything out where they could see it properly."

Ryo chuckled, trying to hold in what he wanted to say, not wanting to lose his temper this early on in the game.

He had a sarcastic smile on his face as he said, "The hell you did Sage. You twisted and bent the truth, aided them in their little shouting match, and stood there while they beat each other up."

"Shut-it Ryo," Cye growled with eyes narrowing venomously at his leader, the warning startled Vanessa, who let out a small gasp.

Rowen and Kento had merely stood and watched like bored spectators at the whole discussion that was occurring.

Kento now spoke, the words bitter, "They are a bunch of immature, worthless human-beings, who couldn't get along if their lives depended on it. Yet, you're going to stand there and blame this on us?"

"I'm not blaming you for their lousy attitudes," Ryo snapped back with a point of his finger angrily at them, "I'm blaming you for nearly destroying our temporary alliance. We don't stand a chance of winning, unless we can work together."

The voice that had been pleading with the Ronin of Strata all day, now took on a more urgent tone. _'Rowen, Rowen! I need you to snap out of it! Hurry, you have to be able to stop them, Rowen!'_

'_Universe?'_ Rowen was confused; he seemed to be trapped in his own mind. The pains of his past had to have locked him here…But why did he feel as though he were breaking through?

'_Because, your virtue is not only intelligence, but also life Rowen; Kali's trying to kill you, and both your virtue and Strata refuse to have anything to do with it. You have to break through, even if it's only for a little while!'_

Cye now took a step forward, standing directly beside Sage as he hissed, "We lost along time ago in that case. You're a fool, Ryo; can't you see how pathetic they are?"

That was the last and final straw, knowing exactly what his consequences would bring him, he stated exactly what was on his mind, "No more pathetic than you four are! Ronin Warriors, I've never in my life seen you act like such cowards. Every fight you hold back more and more, placing not only yourselves but others in jeopardy. You allow yourselves to get beaten up, and you've got the _**nerve**_ to say that a bunch of quarreling hormonal females are pathetic?"

"Take that back," Sage warned threateningly, his ice like eyes glared dangerously at Ryo.

"I won't take back the truth," Ryo retorted, heatedly glaring right back at Sage.

Rowen returned to reality with what happened next.

* * *

Cye narrowed his eyes, and without thinking balled up his fist and punched Ryo in the jaw. As Kento made move to join in, Rowen grabbed his friend by the arm, and yanked him back.

Kento glowered at Rowen, who shouted, "Kento snap out of it!"

The Ronin of Hardrock blinked slowly, "Ro…Rowen? What's going…"

The thud from behind, and screams of protest from the Sailor Elementals, forced Kento to whirl around, his eyes widened in horror.

Sage had tossed Ryo into the wall, and now stared menacingly at his leader, Cye had his arms crossed. Ryo growled as he pushed himself from the wall and glared at the two standing before him.

Kayura had quickly walked out of the room, eyes wide in shock, easily detecting the negative energy radiating off the warriors.

She could understand how it could happen though, this spell had to call forth the dark memories and pains of their past in order to keep them shut within their own minds. The Lady Ancient shivered, Talpa knew of such magic but not even he would have _dared _use such a spell…Then again he had been after the armors and for the most part needed the Ronin Warriors alive. But this enemy merely wanted all of them to die.

The four Sailor Elementals had quickly followed the young woman, exchanging worried glances, trying to figure out a way to stop the guys from killing their leader.

In fact, now everyone was out of their room, having heard Ryo crash into the wall. However, as the spectators made move to intervene, something told them to stop, and they paid the warning heed.

Ryo was now fully back on his feet, looking at Cye and Sage, pityingly; they were almost too far gone. He had to reach them somehow, he had to!

The Lady Ancient quickly looked to the staff in her hand having just summoned it, and was confused when it remained utterly silent. That didn't make any sense, why wouldn't it react? It most certainly had the power to stop the Ronin Warriors and bring them out of the evil trance they were stuck in.

All of a sudden she felt ill…The spell Kali had used was older than the Ancient's clan, and the staff couldn't intervene in something it did not know how to handle. That was the only explanation for the ancient treasure to remain silent like this.

Cye tried to trip Ryo up, but the young man dodged, only to get caught by Sage's right-hook.

Ryo staggered back, lip busted and bleeding now, but he had no intentions of fighting his friends, and he had no real desire to block the hits. He figured by having the evil in them do something this horrible, it would jump start their conscience allowing them to regain control. Little did he know, that it was working, it just wasn't working fast enough.

As Cye made move to strike again, Kento grabbed his friend by the shoulders from behind, "Stop Cye!"

Cye freed himself from the hold, and turned around, "Stay out of my bloody way Kento!" he shouted before slamming his fist into Kento's face.

Kento staggered back and then stared at his friend evenly as he made no attempt to return the favor, "Bloody is right," He retorted, "You're beating the crap outta Ryo!"

Cye closed his eyes; his world suddenly came reeling back into focus, "Where the bloody hell am I?"

* * *

Kayura's jaw almost dropped, they had no clue what was going on when the evil was in control?

'_Oh boy, as if it weren't bad before,'_ Dais had come to the same realization.

'_It is better this way,'_ Cale stated sounding somewhat relieved, _'When they are freed from the influence they won't remember the things that they were forced to do.'_

Anubis sighed, saying in agreement, _'Yes, somehow I don't think they would want to remember almost killing their leader.'_

'_Why can't we get in there?'_ Sekhmet demanded, _'There's a shield keeping us out, I want to know why.'_

Kayura frowned slightly, _'Someone doesn't want us to intervene.'_

Vanessa yelped in surprise, "Ouch, there's definitely a shield there, Callie."

The Elemental Scouts had been having a similar telepathic conversation, and Vanessa had offered to play guinea pig and check. Something of course that she now regretted, as she massaged her sore hand in order to get the throbbing pain to subside.

"Sage! Stop!" Aurora hollered for the tenth time, though she knew it was useless to try and get to him like this. Someone had to get in there and stop him!

* * *

Ryo blocked the incoming high-kick, but failed to deter the punch which hit him in the stomach, and caused him to fall against the wall once more.

Sage stood back and surveyed his work, not truly pleased thus far. Ryo wasn't bleeding enough yet, but the blond would soon fix that.

'_How about a bloody nose to along with that fat lip, Ryo?'_ He thought as a wicked grin traced his lips.

"Sage!" Rowen snapped knowing he had the best chance of reaching the Warrior of Light.

Icy-violet eyes regarded the archer, uncaringly, angry that he was being kept from his work. "What?" he demanded of him.

"You have to stop this Sage!" Rowen cautiously took a few steps forward, "Do you realize what you're doing?"

Sage looked from Ryo, to Rowen, and then back again, "Yeah, so? You would like to be next?"

Everyone gasped, and Rowen did a double-take. If Sage hadn't come out of the trance by now, even with his prodding (granted it wasn't much, but still and all), then they were in a lot of trouble.

Ryo cleared his throat and wiped the blood from where it had begun to trail out of his mouth. "We're not finished," he told him evenly with vivid blues focused solely on Sage in challenge.

"Hardly," the blond swordsman retorted with a smug smirk as he came at Ryo again with a punch that Ryo ducked under.

Unenthused by Ryo's attempts to fight him, Sage merely threw his left hand at him in a punch and when Ryo ducked that one, brought his leg up in a snapping kick to his head; knocking the black haired leader completely off kilter and into the wall with a heavy thud.

Shakily, Ryo pushed himself away from the wall and shook his head to rid himself of the spots that were beginning to blur his vision. Sage wasn't finished with him though. Before Ryo could even regain his surroundings, he was on him, punching him back into the wall relentlessly.

* * *

No amount of screaming, or physical intervention could stop this ongoing duel. Rowen had tried, vainly, to get in the middle, but his two friends had merely slipped around him.

Sage was throwing every kick, and punch he had ever learned at Ryo, who was scarcely putting up a defense. Barely holding his arms up to protect his face as the man hit him again and again.

Truth be told, the bearer of Wildfire had been in pure physical, and sometimes mental agony over his friends' current states. The strain on his strength was beginning to take its toll, and during the past few weeks he had, at times, wanted nothing more than to die.

He knew he couldn't help his friends, and it was that fact that made him so miserable. This…This fight…Was his last attempt to break through, because after tonight, Ryo knew that they would be gone, and quite possibly, forever.

The fight between the two came to a close, as Sage managed to knock his leader off balance yet again. But this time was different, and more disastrous, for the kick had come so sudden, it caused Ryo to hit the wall at an angle, head first.

"RYO!" A chorus of voices screamed.

"Enough Sage!" Kento shouted, trying to grab the blonde man, in order to restrain him.

Being as spry as he was Sage merely twisted his body by an inch, to avoid Kento.

"Stay out of it, it doesn't concern you," he growled out threateningly to the Hardrock bearer.

"You're going to kill him!" Cye hollered out.

It was a dry chuckle that escaped Sage's lips in response, before he gave his full attention to Ryo. Prepared to end the match with more than just a hint of finality, but he wouldn't get the chance.

* * *

_A/N: Thanks to LWKitty for embellishing the 'fight' scene in this chapter. If you think it's awesome, it is and mainly because she helped. :-) And yeah I give you extra chapters, and leave it on a terrible cliffie; aren't I rotten? hehe._


	28. Chapter 27: Late Night Conversations

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: **

"**Late Night Conversations"**

* * *

White Blaze growled lowly, having come down from the third floor, he currently stood in between Sage and his master silently daring the swordsman to come closer.

Ryo's vision was really spinning now, he tried to pull himself to at least his knees, but a hand gently pushed him back down.

"Stay still," Elayne murmured quietly.

The crystal around her neck chimed softly, the red embers in it glowing, as the instinct for it to heal one of its warriors took over.

Ryo's vision cleared slowly, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," She mumbled, getting to her feet she demanded, "Now can someone please tell me what is going on around here? Who decided to use Pyro-boy as a punching bag?"

Rowen winced at her sharp tone, murmuring, "This was our fight…"

"He decided to have a word with us; I didn't like what was said. Mind your business girl, it is a Ronin affair," Sage took a step forward, eyes hard and cold.

White Blaze growled louder, curling back his lips to reveal his teeth. He had no desire to fight Halo, but if the man continued to threaten his master, well Sage was just asking for trouble.

"Stand down Blaze, you stay by Ryo. I'll handle pretty boy." To Sage she said, defiantly, "I'd love too, but this happens to be my house. So I can do what ever I want. What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," He took another step towards her, "This is the new me, don't you approve?"

Elayne chuckled at his tone, "Nope, don't approve at all. Because the new you happens to be quite an idiot. The Sage I know would have never done what you did, and he also wouldn't be tempting fate like you are."

"I'm tempting fate, am I?" That cruel smile was back on his face, and he paused in his walk towards the girl. Seeming to evaluate her, and whether or not she posed a threat to preventing him from completing his task.

"Mhm, take another step, and I'll show you exactly what I mean." Elayne's eyes narrowed and she set herself into a defensive stance, a challenge she knew he wouldn't be able to resist. Though her body still ached from last night's work-out, she was in good enough shape to put him in his place.

Sage should've listened to what she had said, for after taking that next step, she launched an offensive against him. The scuffle was all too brief, only because she had surprised him; the girl shoved him into the wall, and held him firmly by his shoulders.

"Sage! What does it solve? Answer me!" She knew this was hopeless, in trying to appeal to his last bit of sanity like the others had. If his friends hadn't been able to reach him, there was a slim chance she could.

However, Elayne knew precisely how to get under Sage's skin, if all else failed; she knew exactly what she had to say. She only hoped it wouldn't incur more of a beating than she was about to receive.

The young man looked at her uninterestedly; he slipped his foot past hers, and applied enough force to knock her off balance.

Grabbing her wrist so she wouldn't hit the floor, he asked, in almost a growl, "Question, who died and put you in charge?"

Elayne smirked, and kicked him in the shin, causing him to drop her wrist. She twisted so that she hit the floor on her side, rolled, and quickly sprang to her feet, "The Cimmerian Crystal, if you have to know."

Sage's eyes flashed and he doled out an upper-cut, which hit her quite hard. She regarded him with amusement, as she returned the favor by punching him in the face. He gave an enraged snarl, and kicked her in the stomach, and she landed on the floor heavily.

The girl chuckled at the look on his face…No make that all their faces, as she got back up, and dusted off her clothes. She wiped away a spot of blood from her chin, hazel-violet eyes mocking him almost as if to say, _'Is that the best you have?'_

Everyone was more than slightly baffled, Sage was hitting her almost as hard as he had hit Ryo, and yet she hadn't even so much as winced...

He frowned, and then tried to use a low-kick to throw her off balance, but she had expected this, and slid to the side avoiding the attack completely. However, Sage quickly followed through and sent her back to the floor with another excruciating kick.

Again, she got back to her feet, without even gasping from the pain she was most assuredly feeling by now.

The look on his face now, was even more priceless.

She grinned, "The old you should've let the new in on a little secret. See, you can beat me into the ground, and I won't cry out. Out of everyone here, he's the only one who has a slight inkling as to why. I can't feel pain all that well; originally I was diagnosed with HSAN."

Rowen's eyes nearly popped out of his head, there was no way she could have that, but it did make slight sense. Kento and Cye raised their eyebrows in question at their friend, waiting for an explanation.

Sage had a blank look on his face, should he know what that was?

"Hereditary and Sensory Autonomic Neuropathy," Elayne said, with a bored yawn. "They figured I had type two." _'Now, of course, they don't know what to think…Except that it appears my synapses are burnt out.'_

"Why thank you for the nice piece of information, now where were we?" Sage asked, slipping into a fighting stance. The look of confusion was gone, that intimidating smirk was back once more, signifying he was done playing games with the girl.

"You know," She took up a similar stance, "I wonder what Satsuki would think of you now, Seiji."

Cye gaped, that was one low blow. He couldn't believe she said that; then again, he couldn't believe that Sage had actually tried to kill Ryo.

That was the girl's ace in the hole, the one thing she knew would bring Sage out of his prison.

Sage looked around himself groggily, "What the…" His sentence would remain unfinished as he collapsed.

"Get him back to the room; the inner struggle's taken a lot out of him. It's only a matter of time before you four lose control again," Kayura muttered, as she approached; the barrier keeping them all out had vanished upon Sage's return to normal.

"Umm, anyone want to take a guess as to what just happened?" Hotaru inquired.

"I kind of think, all hell decided to break loose. Other than that, I've no clue. Anubis, what's your opinion?" Elayne helped Ryo to his feet. He was still injured, and leaned against the wall for support.

"It seems the evil has almost taken complete control of them. The more negative the energy and the thoughts in this place, the less control they have. If something is not done soon, they will be lost to us."

"Great, so they're all homicidal, perfect," Rei rolled her eyes.

"Okay, so can someone explain to me how come Layne was the only one to get through to Sage?" Kirstin asked.

Elayne smugly grinned, "I've known Sage longer than most of you. And I know exactly how to get on his nerve. You call him by his Japanese name, and remind him about his little sister. It always, always pisses him off to no end. I'm just thankful he was too tired to do anything about it."

"You're…" Amara was looking for a word.

"A bitch, with an ego to match; it's about time you came to that conclusion," Elayne's smile widened.

Everyone gaped at her, but Ami directed them all back to the topic at hand, "We're losing them, time is running out."

Cale nodded in agreement, "Yes, and we're no closer to an answer."

'_It ends tonight,'_ a female voice muttered though she was not heard by anyone.

* * *

"Let's try and get some sleep, we'll worry about this in the morning," Trista sighed, and turned on her heel, the other Outer Senshi following.

Ryo watched as everyone headed back to their respective rooms, leaving him alone with Elayne.

The girl was looking him over, disapproval written on her face, "Not only did you start that on purpose, but you barely even defended yourself, Ryo!"

He winced, trying to get a better grip on the wall, "What would you have liked for me to do?"

"Defended yourself a little bit better, that's what," she bit her lip in frustration, he was still a mess; the crystal had only healed the damage enough so that he could keep consciousness.

"I have to get you cleaned up. I don't think you should spend the night in the same room with homicidal maniacs, either."

Her attempt at humor worked, for he laughed, "Oh, and where would you like for me to go? The couch so the said homicidal maniacs, can throttle me in my sleep?"

Elayne shook her head, "You didn't get it, and keep your voice down. Lean on me."

He did as she asked, grateful for the help; his entire body ached from the beating he had received. It probably wasn't the smartest thing he had ever done, but Ryo had looked for other options, and none would have worked as effectively as that fight had.

"You're kidding me!" Ryo whispered eyes wide, realization having sunk in now.

"Shut-up, Ryo. Or I'll let go, and you'll fall down the stairs," She hissed to him.

"Good to see you're all right," He commented with a bit of humor, "You had me worried." The young man was of course referring to last night's issues.

Elayne shrugged a little, "All I did was dodging, the crystal activated the barriers…It was the concentration that wore me out. Also it finished healing the part of my shoulder Kayura couldn't. Every now and then the trinket comes in handy."

"It saved you, and you're saying the crystal only comes in handy every now and then?" He inquired raising an eyebrow at her.

"Do you _really_ want to go down those flight of stairs?" She demanded in annoyance.

White Blaze watched the two with amusement, the tiger had a feeling it was going to be a long night. He pushed open the door to her room with his paw, and waited for them to enter.

* * *

Ryo was surprised to see that the room was largely a study and work space; full bookshelves lined most of the walls, and the table was covered with papers and books. Back against the wall was where the bed and nightstand where.

Elayne left him sitting at the small table, as she gathered a few bandages, peroxide, a wash cloth and bowl, filling it with warm water from the bathroom sink. It was times like these she was thankful she studied to be a doctor.

His eyes roved over the ancient text books that she had open, recognizing her hand-writing on several pieces of the paper, some of it was in English, some of it in Japanese. He kept a hand to his lip to keep blood from spilling over on the work.

"What's all this?"

"Research. I help Mia out from time to time, when she's under-handed, let's just say she was under-handed again," Elayne rolled her eyes, placing the supplies on the table, "I think that's why she misses Rowen; he used to help her out with things like this."

Ryo raised his eyebrows, and then winced as she started to clean the gash in his forehead.

"Oh don't be jealous," The girl teased, being careful no to apply to much pressure to the sore spot, "She misses you, too. You were there for her to talk to. She misses Cye for his cooking, and helping around the house, Kento for all the laughs he gave, and Sage…" Elayne frowned, tossing the cotton ball in the trash, beside the table, "I don't see why anyone would miss him."

"Elayne!" He gaped at her.

She snickered, dampening another fluff of cotton, "You're too easy to get at. I think she misses Sage, because Sage is Sage and you can't help but not miss him. He's too polite, and insightful not to miss."

"That's the real reason you have been avoiding here, isn't it? You don't want to see what they've become, what this spell has caused them to turn into," Ryo's voice was soft, being able to sympathize with her on that.

"That and I know there's nothing I can do about it. Think about it, Hot Shot…" She used her nickname for him, surprising him by saying it; "I'm no good to people who've been saving the world longer than I've been breathing. I'm weak, last night proved that point, at best a heck of a distraction for the enemy. Granted I've got the crystal and it's my job to protect it, but I have no power of my own, what I do have it gave to me. Sure, I know how to fight, it took a lot of whining and begging to get you guys to teach me, but I'm no hero, and I know that."

Ryo listened, a thoughtful look on his face as she continued to speak.

"The only reason I had the upper hand earlier is because Sage was surprised, and off guard. Whatever has control of him, obviously doesn't know I can fight," She paused a moment, before going back to work, "Sage and I have been sparring partners for a long time, so he knows my moves, and I know his. His grandfather didn't teach me anything, Sage did. That's basically how I got to know him."

Ryo was beginning to tire of playing patient, he tried to wrest his arm away from her cleaning as it was another severely sore point on his body.

Elayne punched him in his shoulder, knowing that it hadn't been injured any, and took the arm back, "I'm curious did you guys ever go in-depth about your family lives'? You met before Talpa, and you've been friends for ages now…So did you ever talk about that?"

"Sure, Cye, Kento, Rowen and I, but Sage…Well…He skimmed the surface, but never got too personal. You know how he is."

Elayne groaned, rolling her eyes, "Mr. Anti-social why does that not surprise me? Even after twelve years of my influence the man still has not come out of his shell. I swear I could strangle him sometimes."

She had now set about trying to clean Ryo's busted lip, but he was not cooperating in the least bit. After settling to give him _'the look,'_ he stopped fidgeting, and permitted her to finish washing it with the warm wash cloth.

Ryo chuckled a little, "You like him don't you?"

Elayne, having finished cleaning the lip, took and applied pressure to his sore wrist, showing she was not amused; "I like Sage, just as much as I like all the others. And, if we are judging on violence in terms of how much I like a person, then I must really like you, because most days I want to kill you."

"Oh, is that a confession?" Ryo teased jovially.

"RYO!" She punched him in the arm, and growled…If looks could kill he would've been dead.

White Blaze, there was no way else to put this, was laughing at their display, the tiger found it amusing that the two still acted like children.

* * *

"Ow, that's my bad arm." Ryo whimpered with a wink.

She put the cap back on the bottle of peroxide, and stood back, surveying her handiwork, "What do you know about him, then?

"He's quiet, Layne. Self-controlled, almost always in command, calm, and rather shy. It took him four months to warm up to the rest of us," Ryo shrugged, "I've known the guy almost all my life, but he's still a mystery. Even to Rowen, and they're so close that you would think they're brothers by birth! Are there things I should know about Sage, that I don't and you do?"

"Um, that you're sunk once he's pissed off? He and Cye, both, are completely uncontrollable and unpredictable when they're mad. Which is why I can't believe you confronted them like that. Though I realize you were trying to appeal to their last shred of sanity, you could've been killed!"

He winced at the sharp tone she had taken, "Do you have to yell? My head hurts."

Elayne sighed, and gave a small smile, "You'll be lucky if you don't end up with a concussion with as many times as you hit the wall."

"Think I need stitches for the…" He paused, as he ran a hand through his hair, "Uh, what happened to the gouge in my forehead?"

"I had to heal it; I don't have stitching supplies on hand," The girl sighed again, a headache starting to come on now. This happened when she overused the crystal to heal, it was a nasty side-effect but she could deal with it for now.

"What I don't understand is how you managed to get through the shield," Ryo mumbled, watching as she replaced all the medical supplies.

"The crystal sort of pulled me through it; I think…I know something was," It wasn't the full truth, but it was close enough, the crystal had partially been the cause, Universe's powers had been the rest. But the girl had no reason to tell of the deal she had made with the warrior. After all, as far as the elders told it, Universe was still dead anyway.

Ryo was past exhaustion and unable to notice that it wasn't a full answer, had he been fully awake he would've known she was hiding something…He always did.

Elayne giggled realizing that the Ronin of Wildfire was starting to doze off, "I don't think falling asleep in that position would be too comfortable."

He groaned, "What would you suggest?"

"You're a smart guy; let's see if you can figure this out, by my giving you a hint. I'm taking the floor over there," She pointed to the small area, not even two feet away from the table, "Night Ryo."

"WHAT?" He was awake now.

She was giggling hysterically, "As if you and I have haven't shared a room before."

White Blaze let out a chuckle, _'I seem to recall you two sharing more than just a room.'_

"Shut-up Blaze," Both shot to the tiger, sending him dark looks as well.

Elayne looked at Ryo quizzically, and the young man shrugged, "I don't know what he said word-for-word, but I have the general idea."

"Uh-huh, but he does bring up a good point. So I don't see what your issue is."

"We were kids!" Ryo protested.

"And because we are older that changes what? And you still treat me like I am a kid anyway, Hot Shot," the girl pointed out, adding, "Actually you all treat me like I am a kid."

"Don't call me that!" His cheeks reddened slightly.

"My house I can call you whatever I want, and if you try to retaliate, I can throw you out," Elayne stuck her tongue out at him.

"No you can't, you'd miss me too much," Ryo grinned; one thing he had certainly missed was the bickering matches…They used to go at it for hours, driving his father completely insane.

"Funny, I was without you for nine years and did just fine," she playfully shot back.

The young man now frowned, "Yeah…Some big brother I was, huh?"

"Hey I was playing, come on stick in the mud," she grinned and ruffled his hair.

Ryo smacked her hands away, "What is it with you and doing that?"

"I happen to think it's funny that you guys react that way. It's just such a Sage thing, and it really amuses me that you all picked that one up from him. I mean none of you used to care about your looks, now you take serious offense when I mess up your hair."

Ryo shrugged, "It's annoying that's all."

"And so are you. Get to bed, and not another word about it, you need sleep Ryo. A lot of good you're going to do, when Kali shows up next."

He sighed and got up, if she wasn't playing little sister, she was playing mother hen, "All right you win!"

"Ha score another one for the weakling, wahoo!" Elayne cheered loudly after his retreating form, before getting back to the work she had to complete.

Ryo just scowled deciding to save any and all possible comebacks for the morning.

* * *

Elayne waited a few minutes more until she was certain both Ronin and tiger were fast asleep before slipping out of the room. She leaned against the door for a moment, and let out a sigh… It had hurt her to see Ryo beaten like that…To see him so emotionally distraught and wounded, and it hurt even more because she knew there was nothing she could do to help.

They were the Ronin Warriors for crying out loud! They had defeated Talpa, and every other threat to the world that had come their way…However it seemed as though this time they were losing the fight.

The girl vigorously shook her head; no she would never believe or accept that…They were going to make it through this fight too, same as always. They had come too far and fought too hard to permit the enemy to win over them. The Ronin Warriors would triumph over this battle just as they had in previous fights.

"I can only heal physical wounds," She whispered to herself, "What's killing the guys is caused by mental wounds…I think I know someone who can cure the mental variety."

She closed her eyes; Universe had contacted her last night by picking up on her distress, probably…So all she had to do now was close her mind to the others, while putting out a 'distress signal' and hope that it worked.

_'What's wrong?'_ Came the familiar voice, sounding slightly worried and extremely agitated.

"I was right!" Elayne tried to keep her excitement to a minimal, "I assume you know what happened earlier?"

There was a pause, before she gritted out, _'Yes.'_

"You have to do something!" the girl murmured in a low tone, "While I was fighting with Kali, I felt your presence after I accepted your request. You read her mind didn't you?"

This time there was a longer pause, _'How on earth, oh never mind tell me later. I did read her mind to find out what spell she used. It's definitely a Forbidden; it eventually leads the victim to do the unthinkable act.' _

"Somehow it worked on the guys backwards; instead of wanting to kill themselves, they tried to kill someone else," Elayne let out a sigh, "You can fix it right? You know the counter-spell to this, don't you? You have to; you've been alive longer than Pluto has!"

'_I know of a way, to end this, yes,' _Universe hesitated slightly, _'But, I am afraid it requires more of you.'_

"Uh oh, I _know_ where this is going now," the girl gave an annoyed sigh; she needed to quit it with using bright ideas.

_'Look,'_ The Scout tried to begin, and then went silent, trying to think of something to say.

Elayne shook her head, "It's fine; you don't have to explain. You just need to borrow my body until the reversal spell is completed; I know; the crystal showed me a time when you used it."

'_Then you know I can only perform this task if you are willing. I have to have permission before I can 'borrow' someone,'_ Sailor Universe commented.

"Well, in that case, you have my permission," the girl answered quietly, "The guys are the only family I've got. I don't think I could bear to see them fighting like that ever again. I also doubt Ryo would survive another fight of that nature."

'_Thank you,' _the Scout murmured.

Elayne closed her eyes, and when she reopened them the Sailor of the Universe was in complete control.

It was near-to-impossible to detect that a change had taken place; if any one of the warriors had looked they would've never noticed. The only visible change was the fact that there was now more violet in her eyes than before.

"Hmm," Universe flexed her arms, "You don't give yourself near enough credit; you're stronger than you look."

Elayne laughed, _'I'll take that as an off-handed compliment. Most of my strength comes because of the crystal though, so don't praise me too much.'_

"Wouldn't dream of it," the Scout commented in humor, before saying in a serious-tone, "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

The warrior quietly descended the stairs, doing a general scan to make sure the house's habitants were all still asleep; satisfied that they were she made her way to the Ronins room.

'_The scarring on them is worse than you think.' _

"Oh? And you would know that, how?" Universe hesitated outside the door, laying a hand on the knob.

'_They talk to me; everyone thinks I'm their personal shrink,'_ the girl joked, and grimly added, _'Talpa put them through a lot more this time than Akemliek ever did.'_

Her eyes flashed dangerously, "Curse him." She opened the door, and entered, "He should relish the fact he's dead, I'd kill him if he weren't."

'_Again?' _Elayne inquired humorously.

"Nobody messes with my charges and gets away with it," the Scout answered stiffly, then smirked, "But, you know that."

'_Oh yeah,'_ Elayne chuckled out, _'I've seen all-too-well what you've done when someone has. Not a wonder the elders are afraid of you.'_

Universe rolled her eyes, a scowl on her face and then her features softened upon seeing the four familiar sleeping forms.

"Sometimes…I forget that they aren't children anymore, it's hard to accept that they've finally grown…"

'_None of them ever made it to this age, did they?'_

"You ask too many questions," Universe complained, murmuring softly, "No, not a one, Akemliek always killed them before they hit eighteen…" Her voice trailed off, as she took another glance around the room, before walking to the middle of it.

She took up a lotus position on the floor, muttering darkly, "Curse you Talpa," Before closing her eyes and connecting with the dreams. How long this would take, the guardian was not sure, but she knew she was going to need help.

_A/N: Another four chapter update for your viewing pleasure; chapters 27-30_


	29. Chapter 28: An Unusual Rescue Mission

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: **

"**An Unusual Rescue Mission"**

* * *

The second floor hall was eerily quiet now, a vast change from the sounds of fighting that had echoed through it earlier. Everything was calm and still, nothing moved and not a person stirred…It seemed as though it would be a normal night, but that would prove to be far from the truth.

In the room shared between the Scout's of the Elements and the Lady Ancient, something was going on, or rather just about to.

The air in the room seemed to buzz in anticipation, seeming to understand that a call would soon be placed and that the magic in the area would be required to 'spark' to life. Before settling into a restless sleep, the five had spent their time talking about what had happened.

The Last of the Ancient's clan was greatly distressed over the matter just because the Ronins were her charges, and she could do nothing to be of aide or guidance…The Elementals were upset because they felt as useless as Kayura did. After the five of them proceeded to rack their brains for over an hour and came up with no ideas on how to solve the issue at hand…Well they weren't really any better off.

* * *

Now the four Sailor Elementals found themselves in a strange dream, and the fact that they were sharing it did little to ease their concerns.

"Where are we?" Callista ask with a frown, eyes warily scanning her surroundings.

Kirstin looked around and shrugged, "Dreaming, I think."

The grass was so green it looked as though it had come out of a paint bottle, and the small lake was a perfect shining aqua blue. The sky was tinged with white puffy clouds, and blue sky as far as the eye could see…That's when they all agreed that they were definitely dreaming.

"Why are we all having the same dream?" Vanessa asked slightly annoyed, something was fishy and she wasn't about to just stand there and act like everything was okay.

A chuckle from somewhere behind them caught their attention, and the four abruptly turned around.

The figure was sitting sprawled out on a rock, studying them with an amusement that one might use when they were watching small children play. She ran an ungloved hand through her black-silver hair, the other resting comfortably on her hip.

She spoke in a low and soft tone, "I might be able to answer that."

Aurora watched the girl with eyes wide in shock, and after some minutes finally screeched out, "Uni!"

The Scout chuckled again and slightly waved, "Hi girls."

"You're alive?" You could have knocked Callista over with a feather, never mind her element of wind…To see the Scout in front of her was just mind blowing.

"Perhaps, but that is not why I come to you now. I am in need of your assistance," Sailor Universe sat up, tilting her head at the four young women, "Would you help me?"

"It's about the Ronin Warriors, isn't it?" Vanessa inquired; eyeing the figure with just a tiny amount of apprehension…She wasn't going to trust her eyes right now, after all she was dreaming; perhaps the stress had called up the image of Universe.

"You are correct," the Scout admitted, "I called you each onto what the mortals may call the 'dream plain' a stage that exists before one is awake but also before they are truly asleep. Helios often frequents this plain of existence before entering one's dreams, a tad of useless information for you since I know how you enjoy that."

"Do not," the Earth Scout quickly said, before slipping a hand over her mouth looking guilty.

"Do so infinity," Vanessa stated before an argument could begin, looking to Universe and asking, "Why do you need us exactly? And don't tell me that it's because 'we are destined to fall in love and marry our elemental partners' cause that is so corny it's sickening."

Universe laughed merrily, "No nothing of the sort. I am aware of your feelings toward your respective partners, and glad that you have attained such a well working friendship."

Kirstin shifted her weight slightly when the Scout looked to her and winked; the Earth Senshi was hoping no one else caught that.

"Well working friendship? Half the time we argue like we're siblings," Callista commented with a roll of her eyes.

"It's to be expected," The Scout commented with a smile, "You do have the same elements and with that most often comes the same interests. I need you because of your friendship with the Ronins and because you bear the same elements. As it is, you four bear the remnant power of the Ronin Armors. Your powers are the surplus energy the Great Council was afraid to give to the Ronins for fear it'd cause undo strain on the bearers."

"Are you serious?" Aurora was gaping at this bit of news.

"Very much so," Universe said with a nod, "The same is true of the Seasonal Senshi; they carry the remaining power of the Seasonal Ronin's armors."

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask and you're the right person," Vanessa breathed, quickly inquiring, "Where the hell are the Seasons?"

Universe laughed a little, "Doing their job. Before this life cycle started during the last one sometime, I sent them, after getting Serenity's approval, to outside of this Solar System. Their task is to prevent any outside threats from entering. The Outer Senshi's task is the same, yet they perform it while within this system. I thought it best to have someone outside of it. You most likely won't be seeing Summer, Fall and Winter for a long time if all goes well."

"What about Spring?" Kirstin inquired raising an eyebrow.

Universe allowed herself a chuckle, and smiled knowing the secret behind her amusement, "That is something for another time. Meaning, I can't tell you right now."

"Understood," Callista said with a nod, asking, "Why exactly do you need our help?"

"The armors are still weak from the drainage spell that was used on them," Universe responded quietly, "The fact that their bearer's are now so out of control clearly conveys to me that the armors have not fully recovered from the blow."

"What can we do, Uni?" the Elemental Leader finally asked.

"I was originally going to do this the easy way, but I find I cannot. I need you four to 'find' the Ronins and, for lack of a better word, 'latch' onto them while I try and fix the damage done as well as use the incantation to remove whatever spell is keeping them bound like this."

"Okay, I'm ready for some action," the Water Scout remarked, "Anything else we should know?"

"It may be a dream to you, but the consequences are real," Universe warned trying to make sure that the four didn't take this too lightly, "I will protect you the best I can, but I can't do everything myself."

"Which means we can get hurt, great," Callista let out a long sigh, "I guess that means we need our pendants, but…."

Before the words could form, the four familiar objects appeared in mid-air, and she closed her mouth with a snap.

"Dream, remember?" the Sailor of Earth smirked firmly grasping the one that belonged to her.

The Air Scout merely nodded her head in response.

"Good luck and be careful," Sailor Universe murmured.

* * *

Before they could respond to the statement, they found themselves being pulled away from the plain…Though Vanessa managed to shriek out, "How are we supposed to find the guys in the first place?"

The next thing they knew they had landed with a harsh thud and Universe's voice drifted to them in amusement, _"You'll know when the time comes."_

"Ow," Callista moaned out rubbing her forehead.

Aurora sat up commenting on the fall with, "That was not a very graceful landing."

"Agreed," Kirstin grumbled trying to figure out why they had landed in an alleyway.

Vanessa was already on her feet, and was almost completely out of the dark and dank alley, not wanting to wait for her comrades to catch up.

The Scout of Air had noticed how clouded over it was, and the negative feeling the green hued haze was giving off, a frown settled onto her face as she walked over to where the Water Scout was standing.

"I think we need to walk around to find out where we are," Aurora brought in, looking up and down the empty street, "I don't see anything familiar."

"I do," Kirstin murmured eyes slightly widened, "We're in Shinjuku!"

"What?" The other three chorused, before exchanging looks with one another.

"What if Kali," Vanessa murmured out quietly, "Used a spell that would call on the Ronins darker memories?"

"It's possible. Which means that they are stuck reliving their pasts," Callista mused aloud, "So if we want to find them, we're going to have to discern what is part of the dream and what is not."

"It won't be that hard," Kirstin commented as the four warily began to walk down the street, "After all they were fourteen when they fought Talpa, they are in their twenties now. Shouldn't they appear to us as their real ages?"

"Let's hope they do, or not only will this be confusing but it'll also be extremely complicated," Aurora muttered keeping a look out for anything strange.

Before the Elemental of Water could make note that it was already complicated, a familiar voice shouted something out.

"That's Ryo," She said instead, tightening the grip on her pendant before sprinting off and around the corner where she slammed to a halt.

The other three trailed behind her, puzzled as to why their battle-ready friend had stopped so short.

It was certainly the Ronin leader that had called out; though it was hard to accept the fact he was so young…He was facing off against an odd-looking hulk of metal.

Kirstin looked over the soldier, and let out a low whistle, "Man, they weren't joking when they said that Dynasty soldiers were ugly."

Callista nodded commenting with, "Here I thought the Raikken got thrown out of beauty school."

The Elemental leader was scanning the surrounding area, catching notice of a small boy and young woman, "Those two have to be Yulie and Mia. But where are the other guys?"

"They'll be here," Vanessa commented arms crossed in front of her chest, eyes on the Wildfire Ronin and his opponent.

The soldier prepared to make his move to finish the match, and cried out, "Say goodbye to this world!"

Ryo had his arms shielding his face, but the attack never came, being diverted by a familiar blur of blue.

"You were going to introduce us to your friend weren't you? I'm Rowen, of the armor Strata. This is my friend. Head's up!"

Another familiar figure landed, speaking with his usual note of confidence, "Hey buddy! You saving all the fun for yourself? Call me Kento of Hardrock. Justice is my reward!"

Aurora moaned at the gloating look on the Water Scout's face, and then proceeded to shake her head at everything else that was going on.

Callista did her best to keep her face neutral; this was how the five of them had started out against the Dynasty?

'_At least it isn't as lame as what the Scouts normally shout out,'_ Kirstin thought over the mental link with a loud snigger.

The other three women nodded in whole-hearted agreement that was a very good point.

A voice with a slight British accent broke in now, from a nearby rooftop "Up here Bucket Head! I'm Cye of the Torrent. Trust is my symbol."

As Cye jumped down from his vantage point to the ground below, the last and final warrior was seen falling upside down, "Whoa! Check out ugly!"

Callista let a smile cross her lips, doing her best not to laugh now was twice as impossible. Though, she didn't find it hard to believe that Sage had actually said that.

"That's Sage for you," Vanessa commented rolling her amethyst eyes skywards, _'That cotton-ball show off.'_

"I'm Sage of the Halo. My power seeks Wisdom!"

The four young women watched this in a great deal of amusement, exchanging candid smirks and looks of knowing. If and when the current issue was resolved, they were _never _going to let the guys live their 'grand introduction to the dynasty' down.

Vanessa blinked in surprise, sharply tugging on her leader's shirt, "Look!"

Aurora frowned, turning her head to a nearby alley and her eyes widened, "Universe?"

She was obviously younger than the one they had just dealt with, as she was far smaller in body stature, perhaps she was no more than fourteen here.

"Good luck my friends, and be careful," She murmured in a soft voice, she watched for a few minutes more before leaping into a shadow and disappearing.

"So," Kirstin turned to look at her friends, "She was present when it started for them. Care to take bets as to whether or not she was present during Senshi fights?"

"Uni had to have been; perhaps even for the few we went through," Callista answered quietly; saying, "She is alive and has undoubtedly been helping us since September of this year. Universe is the only one who could've helped Sage, Rowen and Cye out; the Ancient didn't permit Kayura to intervene until after they were attacked."

The woman paused for breath, "Universe has also probably been in the battles focused around us Scouts; she just blends in easier because we all have the same uniform and no one is going to be able to tell the minute differences of hers just by seeing her shadow. The reason she would stand out when helping the Ronins is because she doesn't wear armor."

"Makes sense," the Water Scout admitted, "But let's just keep our theories, and where and when we see her to ourselves. The elders want her listed as dead for a reason; if the guys have already dealt with her that's okay, let's try not to draw too much attention."

"Right," Aurora nodded, "Deal. Now, how the heck are we supposed to find the guys?"

"I don't know," The Warrior of Air commented, "I doubt very much they're all having the same dream, or if they are that they're having it at the same time. It's just not possible…."

_'Then I guess it's not possible for mystical samurai armors or transformation objects that invoke the powers of both planets and elements to exist either,' _Universe commented with a chuckle of amusement.

Callista worked her jaw, "Ya okay you got me there. And where are you exactly?"

_'Working where else would I be?' _Universe retorted calmly noting how the woman's pitch and tone had changed to demanding.

'_Cut-it-out,'_ the Elemental leader mouthed to her blue-haired comrade in warning; what little she could remember of the Silver Millennium…Well, she recalled the fact that Air Senshi had often clashed with the Universal Scout.

"Uni? What exactly are you doing, may I ask?" Aurora inquired, hoping she might be able to figure out how to find the Ronins due to the Scout's answer.

_'Dream blending,' _Universe paused a moment,_ 'It's done, I merely made it so they were located within the same dream…Or plain of said dream; whichever tiresome title you would prefer to call it. Your earlier assumptions are correct they should appear to you as they are now, not as they were in these memories. I have other spells to employ, if you'll all excuse me."_

Vanessa bopped Callie in the head before the woman could make a smart retort, "Shuddup, and leave her alone. We have elemental partners to find, remember?"

The Warrior of Air merely nodded, though her coffee brown eyes were narrowed into a hateful glare. Vanessa merely returned this look with one of her own.

"I would assume the best thing to do would be to go our separate ways," Kirstin brought in before things could get too out of hand, "We don't want to give the poor fools heart-attacks."

The Water Scout chuckled at her friend's analysis, "Ya, considering they almost bashed their leader's brains in, I'm sure there's a high risk of heart-failure involved here."

"Enough you guys, let's get going," Aurora snapped, "We don't know how much time we've got, so we better stop wasting it."

The other three nodded in agreement, and before parting they all wished one another good luck….Somehow they figured they were going to need it.

* * *

Callista walked around the streets, steeling herself when the memory changed to that of another.

"I am never going to get used to that," The Air Scout commented. The scene had changed several times now; she could only hope that the other Scouts were having better luck than she was.

She paused a moment, eyes settling on the person she was looking for, Callista then walked over and tugged on his shirt sleeve.

The Ronin of Strata nearly jumped out of clothes as well as the skin he was wearing. He whirled on the heel of his foot, slightly taken aback by seeing the Senshi of Air there.

"Callie? What are you doing here?" Midnight blue-eyes were widened in shock, not sure whether or not his subconscious had put her in this dream. This had been going on for so long, Rowen and the others were aware when they were dreaming and when they were not.

"Looking for you," She answered simply, adding, "At the request of someone."

He raised a blue-eyebrow at her but decided not to inquire as he turned his attention back to the memories playing out before him.

For quite a while the two of them remained completely silent, watching as things slowly dragged out. Because the dreams were blended, Rowen was now seeing things from the others point-of-view, and undoubtedly the same thing was happening to them.

Callista kept stealing glances at the young man beside her, upset to see her Elemental partner like this for Rowen looked truly miserable.

"I'd give a lot to change this…" He suddenly murmured, turning to face her as he spoke, "Make it so they didn't have to suffer like they did."

He had come to the conclusion that this figment of his imagination wasn't going to go away; the least he could do was make an effort to talk to her, right?

"I think…" she started slowly, "They would all like to change that Ro. Change the fact that you or someone else got hurt for them, or vice versa. But, honestly…what good will it do to dwell on what can't be changed? You're letting your feelings consume you, Rowen."

He blinked, and inquired somewhat stupefied, "Am I dreaming, or is this actually happening?" Rowen knew there was no way his subconscious could come up with her answer…A similar one, yes, but that exact one? No.

She bit back a laugh, "Both, you're dreaming and I'm actually present. Your mind didn't 'dream me up,' I was more or less sent here."

"I don't get it," the Strata Ronin continued to blink in his confusion, "How?"

Callista merely shrugged, "Don't look at me; this defies all sense of logic. You'd have to ask someone who's into magic and the supernatural."

"Heh, Sage is never around when I need him," Rowen tried his pitiful attempt at cracking a joke…Only to get whapped in the head by someone from behind, "Youch!"

"You rang?" The Halo Ronin smoothly inquired, retracting his hand and then crossing both arms in front of his chest.

"Did you have to hit me?" Rowen whined out, rubbing the sore spot visibly wincing.

Callista ignored them, inquiring of her leader, "How long did it take you?"

"Not that long at all," the Light Elemental sarcastically replied, jerking her thumb at Sage, "He was _sulking_ in the furthest corner of his mind."

"I was not sulking," Sage growled out, eyeing his partner in annoyance, "I do _not _sulk."

She snorted and rolled her eyes skyward, "You were sitting on the ground, muttering angrily about this that and the other thing. You were _so_ sulking."

"Whatever," the swordsman of Halo responded gruffly, closing his visible eye.

Callista arched an eye-brow, "Well isn't he just Mr. Sunshine?"

Rowen snorted back a laugh, and shook his head in slight mirth. When the woman had said that, Sage's face had contorted to show his displeasure with the latest nickname.

"He better watch it, because Vanessa will clean his clock. She's been dying to for weeks," Aurora stated, only trying to get a reaction from the man.

Sage gave a derisive snort, "She better watch it, I might clean hers for a change."

The Elemental Leader let out a shriek, clinging to Rowen's arm, "Look! It spoke; it does actually do more than sulk. Save me!"

The Halo Ronin's visible eye opened, and he gave a shake of his head to reveal both of them as he glared at Aurora. The woman merely gave him a triumphant smile in response, and stuck her tongue out just for good measure.

The swordsman could not help but grin at her comeback, and let out a low chuckle, "Stop hanging around An so much."

"I am nothing like her," the Elemental leader calmly retorted.

Rowen cleared his throat, nervously inquiring, "Gonna let go of me anytime soon?"

Aurora ordinarily would have shrieked and then let him go, but instead she leaned her head against his shoulder.

She batted her eyelashes at him, and queried, "Who in their right mind would let go of such a nice catch?"

Rowen had been uncomfortable before, but after her sly comment it doubled and he felt his cheeks burn. Callista immediately started laughing at the look on her elemental partner's face, it was priceless!

Sage chortled at his friend, "Ro, you're about as red as Ryo's armor right now."

"Shuddup!" the archer griped, leveling a glare at Aurora who had finally let go of him, "He's right, you're hanging around Elayne way too much."

The platinum-blonde merely smirked at him fully prepared to retort, but instead raised voices caught her attention and she refrained.

* * *

"Oh I give up! You go ahead and be that way," Vanessa complained, throwing her hands up into the air and stalking forward. She caught sight of her teammates and the other two Ronin and picked up the pace.

"Ness!" Cye called after a moment or two of hesitation; frowning when she didn't respond, "Aw come on Ness."

The woman disregarded her partner and halted right in front of Aurora, who was watching everything with both eyebrows raised.

"Vanessa Nyoko Eytinge," Kirstin stated hotly, "Would you simmer down?"

Aurora raised her eyebrows even further (if it were possible), the look on the face conveying her question perfectly, _do-I-even-want-to-know?_

Vanessa rounded on her best friend who had been following behind her and Cye, "Shut up Nozomi no one asked you. If he's going to be a moron he can stay that way."

Kirstin let out a low growl at her friend, and Kento put a hand on his partner's shoulder and gave her a look conveying the subtle fact she needed to calm down herself. The Earth Scout worked her jaw a few times but kept quiet; Kento proceeded to relax a little.

Rowen was also watching all of this with raised eyebrows, "What's going on?"

"He," Vanessa glowered at her respective partner, "Is on a _Ryo-guilt_ trip. He refuses to get off of it, even after our arguing over it for the past thirty minutes. So now I'm pissed. Make sense?"

Aurora merely nodded completely understanding; after all Sage had been asking for a pummeling before. She had finally managed to get him to a semi-normal state, but the offer was still very tempting.

The Elemental leader was suddenly thankful she was used to Vanessa and her outbursts, especially when her anger was going off the charts…When pressed the wrong way, the Water Scout could be rather volatile.

"That's nice," Rowen responded calmly, before barking out, "I meant: what you are all doing here?"

Everyone visibly winced, rather unused to the Strata Ronin shouting so loudly…The three Ronin merely shrugged at their friend, while the Sailor Elementals did the same, only after exchanging looks with one-another.

Rowen's eyes narrowed sharply, but before he could go on a rant, a voice rang out rather calmly, _'Now, now Touma, don't be rash.'_

He immediately frowned recognizing the voice, "Universe what are you doing?"

Callista sniggered, unable to resist the chance to make a pun and hoping to offset the growing tension, she commented, "Messing with your heads."

_'I'm trying to fix them, oh wise one,'_ Universe chuckled but understanding what the Scout was shooting for, _'They were a 'mess' long before Kali used her little trick.'_

"Hey!" Cye, Sage and Kento shouted in annoyance.

"I resent that," Rowen growled out.

"You would," the four Senshi quipped, while Universe merrily chuckled.

* * *

The young women then looked between each other, before plunging into an explanation of what had been going on (leaving out the fight with Ryo), what was currently going on now, and why they were there.

"So," Kento murmured after a few moments silence, "We're more or less locked inside our heads? And for longer periods of times?"

"Pretty much," Callista acknowledged, scanning her surroundings warily. After the other two Ronin had shown up the scenery had stopped changing altogether, and by the looks of it things were getting darker.

Aurora tensed and whirled around eyes darting from corner to corner, shadow to shadow.

Sage saw her reaction and a frown wove its way upon his face, "What's wrong?"

"Dream demon," She whispered softly, eyes narrowed into slits, "That's what the spell does…It calls them up to keep the victim trapped and then as time goes by the demon gains more control to the point where they can possess the person!"

Kirstin was scowling, "But that isn't what it was supposed to do! According to what the Seasonals found…" She halted, and refused to finish the sentence not caring that the four Ronins were staring at her oddly.

_'Kali is powerful, but she's an idiot. She mixed up the other spell's title with this one's chant,' _Universe sourly commented, adding, _'Be careful.'_

"Heh," Callista sighed heavily through her nose, hand tightly wrapped around her crystal-blue transformation pendant, "Thanks for the show of concern."

Callista was spared a retort from the Scout, as a voice cackled out, "Do you really think you fools can help?"

It sounded like Kali, but Aurora knew better; with a quick twist of her wrist the pendant activated causing her to change forms. The other three woman followed suite, and then the Elemental Senshi pondered what to do about their partners…The Ronins had been in nothing more than their normal everyday clothes…

However, now they were in sub-armor…Glacia immediately ridiculed herself and her friends, _'We keep forgetting that this is a dream.'_

'_Heh, ya,'_ Empyrean acknowledged sheepishly.

"Where are you?" Nova demanded her voice tense.

"Everywhere and nowhere," was the echolike response.

Aarde scowled eyes locking onto a mist-like gray cloud, it was different from the rest of the surrounding area…She quickly called out, "Solar Vine Strike!"

But instead of having the vines detonate she merely held that power back, enabling her attack to hold onto the form.

Nova watched as the mist faded away, revealing a hooded figure, "You're a Driento, I figured as much. We're going to give you an option, leave their minds, or we're going to let them have at you."

It chuckled, loosing Kali's voice which is had been using…It responded in a screech-like tone, "You forget that there was one for each Ronin. The dream is blended; I have the power of four!"

"And there are eight of us," Rowen smoothly commented, "I think you're outnumbered."

"Fool!" the Driento sputtered out amidst its cackling, "I have access to your memories, I can easily trap you again. I can do this so they can't find you! You will be trapped here forever."

The eight warriors stood still for a moment, the weight of the words sinking in…They then decided they had to act and fast. As they advanced, the Driento began to make good on its threat.

The Ronins felt that they were being pulled away, and the Elemental Senshi could see that they were starting to fade. The Driento's laughter increased, and then it screamed in agony as what appeared to be electricity shot throughout it.

The four young men realized they were once more in a solid form, and looked amongst themselves, trying to figure out what happened. The Elemental Scouts were surprised too, even more so to see that now all four men were in full armor.

'_Hurry up and destroy it,' _Universe's voice broke in, sounding horribly strained.

"You did that?" Kento asked slowly.

'_I had to,' _she responded wearily, _'You have to take it out while you've got the chance; right now it's disorientated.'_

"Thanks Uni," Nova breathed, before looking to her team, "You heard her, hop to it!"

"Ma'am, yes ma'am," the Air Senshi sarcastically commented, then added, "On the count of three…"

"Three!" Cye shouted out, and with that the eight warriors released their attacks causing a fury of light to be cast across the pitch black area.

Time and space stood still and with a final scream, the Driento burst into ashes…The area slowly began to lighten up, as the fog clouding the Ronins minds dissipated.

"That was almost too easy," The Ronin of Halo murmured with a frown.

The others mutely nodded in agreement, and looked at each other worriedly; what if that had only been a decoy?

'_Of course it would be easy,' _Universe said in a pained voice, _'Who do you think was fighting it before you all showed up?'_

"You're kidding!" Glacia outright gaped, "You were not fighting that thing, were you?"

'_I was,'_ she responded calmly, breathing heavily, _'It kept trying to interfere; I had to beat it back.'_

"Uni!" Nova cried in exasperation, "You don't have access to your powers yet! The seal is still in place."

'_You think I don't know that?'_ the Scout agitatedly demanded, _'I can access my powers, it just drains me more than it should. I had no other choice, but enough of that. It's time now.'_  
"Time for what?" Cye asked in confusion.

'_For you to return to peaceful dreams and your normal selves,' _Universe answered calmly, before separating the dream.

* * *

The Elemental Senshi found that they were once more on the 'dream plain' and looked amongst themselves in confusion.

"Now what?" Kirstin calmly asked having powered down.

"Thank you for your help," Universe murmured, once more lounging on the rock, "They'll be all right now. I merely sent them to peaceful sleep. I just wished to thank you for helping me, before I did the same to you."

Aurora smiled warmly, "It's not a problem. They have, unfortunately, grown on us. It just wouldn't be the same without them around."

The Scout managed a laugh, and shook her head in amusement. She then became solemn, "Take care of each other; I'll be keeping my eyes on you all. Till the next time!"

Without letting another word pass, the Sailor of the Universe quickly severed the links she had called upon, sending the four Scouts back to their own dreams.


	30. Chapter 29: The Threat To Come

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: **

"**The Threat To Come"**

* * *

She took in a deep breath, and tried to will away most of the paint she felt. Sailor Universe would have loved nothing more than to fade into unconsciousness and let the girl take over 'guard duty,' but she knew she had one more thing to do.

The others knew of the restrictions placed upon her that she wasn't supposed to be using any of her more serious abilities…Only the minor ones. Well, breaking a Forbidden Spell and its hold on four victims, while having to fight off a Driento sure didn't fall under that category.

It wasn't a good sign that she was already starting to feel the effects, she had to do this one last thing, and do it quickly.

Universe took one more deep breath, and then concentrated what energy she had left on the certain person she needed to talk to.

* * *

Kayura let out a low moan in her sleep, and then rolled over onto her side.

"Lady Kayura," a voice whispered.

The woman again moaned, and tried even more desperately to block out the noise she was hearing.

"Please, I must speak with you," there was an urgent tone in the speaker's voice now.

Minutes passed before the person exasperatedly yelled, _"KAYURA!"_

The Lady Ancient shot up in surprise, eyes darting wildly about until she realized where she was. Her cobalt-blue eyes then calmly scanned the area until they rested on a familiar figure, the one that had awoken her.

The Sailor of the Universe seemed to be worse for the wear, but was apparently annoyed nonetheless.

"Honestly, what is it with you?" She demanded of no one in particular, "You all _insist _on ignoring anyone that so much as _thinks_ about waking your slumbering forms!"

"Why hello to you as well, Universe," Kayura cheerfully remarked, "When you're done ranting, would you mind explaining why you summoned me to the dream plain?"

The warrior scoffed and warned, "Don't get smart. Or, I'll go back to harassing you on the meditation field."

Kayura let out a laugh then inquired, "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing at all," Universe answered, "I wanted to let you know that your charges are back to normal."

"You abolished the spell then?" Kayura softly murmured.

"More or less," the woman nodded, "I weakened the blocking spell to the point where the armors could do the rest. However, with as long as they've been blocked and as weak as they still are…Even with the Elemental Senshi present the armors were still in need of my assistance."

"I see," the Lady Ancient said, a small frown tugging at the corners of her mouth. She hesitated a minute, before saying, "I want to thank you for helping my charges Universe. The agreement we made, that you would take care of them in my absence and when I was unable to help them…Well, thank you for doing all that you have."

"It is not a problem, Lady Kayura," Universe sighed, before offering a small smile, "I very much enjoyed the chance to aide someone other than the Senshi for a change. Though it is true the Inner and Outer do not know of my involvement in some of their battles since September…Well, its best they never know as they tend to resent my help."

Kayura nodded in understanding; "I would like to know if there is anything I can do for you? You have been a great help to me, I would like the chance to do the same."

"Actually," the Scout's voice was strained now, "There is. Now, I need you to watch my charges for me. I have only enough strength and power for one more excursion with the enemy. I am saving it in case something happens to Wildfire and should you need my assistance then; I will be unable to look after the Senshi for a while. As it is, I have already over exhausted myself tonight."

"I will gladly watch over your charges Lady Universe, just without them knowing what I am doing," the Ancient smiled, "Go and get some rest, you've done more than enough."

"Thank you Lady Kayura," She bowed in respect, and then vanished from sight.

Kayura gave a soft shake of her head, before rolling over and going back to her dream.

* * *

Elayne jolted awake, and pushed a strand of black hair out of her face. The girl quickly took a look at her surroundings, finding herself in the Ronins room…She frowned, why was she here?

It took a few minutes of blinking and scanning the room with her eyes before she remembered allowing Universe to take control of her body in order to help the young men.

Now unable to sense the woman's presence, Elayne figured the Guardian Scout must've been successful and that she was gone due to over extending herself.

"Guess that means it's my turn to watch out for them when I can, huh?" She whispered to herself, slowly getting to her feet. Her legs protested the action, after being stuck in the same position for who-knows how long they had more or less fallen asleep.

Elayne gritted her teeth together; she needed to be quiet and careful, she didn't want to wake them up! If her legs didn't start cooperating, she would crawl back to her room if she had to.

This mental threat seemed to work, as the numbness magically left enabling her to walk freely. The girl shook her head, who would've thought?

Before exiting the room, she cast a glance at the four young men that occupied the room. They were sleeping soundly, the tension and darkness that had once lingered around them was now gone.

Elayne smiled, her beloved brothers were back; safe and sound.

* * *

**Akemliek's Domain**

Thanos casually walked through the caverns, coming to an abrupt halt when the ground beneath him violently shook.

It was followed by an enraged howl, and the ice demon proceeded to let out a low, embarrassed, sigh. He resumed walking, but his original destination was long forgotten as he walked to the room the noises were coming from.

He poked his head into his sister's room, seeing that it was a complete war-zone he was more than tempted to duck back out and bolt for safety. However, he held his ground, eyeing Kali warily.

The demonness stopped snarling and throwing things after several minutes, trying to regain her breath.

"I take it," Thanos inquired, after several moments of her not doing anything, "That they finally figured out how to undo your spell on the Ronins?"

Kali whirled eyes narrowing at her brother, as she hissed out in answer, "Yes."

"Took them long enough," he mused aloud, before saying, "I'm genuinely surprised at them, they are all stronger this lifetime, but they know relatively nothing."

"I don't care about that!" the demonness snapped in aggravation, "I am more concerned about who helped them. Do you realize what this means Thanos? She's still out there, those blundering Raikken failed to finish the job Metallia started."

"We don't know that," Thanos returned quickly, only to be cut off by her…Once Kali was mad, there was very little that could be done until she'd worked the anger off, or ranted it off. Unfortunately for him? It looked like she was going to rant and rave.

"Stop being a fool! Who else could have done it?" She angrily demanded, "This Lady Kayura might be the last of her clan, but all our sources tell us she's still learning the full ways. The spells I evoked, according to Master were often used in one of the past lifetimes. That Scout is the only one who could have known how to get around it; the warriors finding the information on how to undo it were slim…And the chance of them being able to work such magic? Impossible!"

Kali picked up a rock and hurled it at the wall, "She's out there Thanos, and don't tell me there's no way she could be. You told me there was no way the elders could possibly find a mortal link; well, they found one."

Thanos rubbed at the back of his head; though she was being snippy she did have a point. Even Akemliek himself had figured that there was no way for the warriors to be brought together and that the elders would not be able to find a human willing to believe them. If they found someone, he also had doubted the person would be able to handle the task.

That's what made the girl such a curiosity to them, for they had not thought such a person could exist. She had fit into the gap so well, almost too well; it was as though someone had purposely put her into the position of knowing the Ronins and later on the Senshi.

Thanos came out of his thoughts upon seeing that his sister was glowering at him, and sheepishly commented, "It was an honest mistake, Master Akemliek admits that. But honestly what good can that child do?"

"She was clever enough to bring them together, and has been able to get rid of the Raikken we send after her. Plus, she also gave me plenty of trouble last night. She can do us more harm then good, I say we eliminate her."

"What does Master think of this?" he inquired slightly frowning; killing innocent humans just wasn't Thanos' cup of tea. If he was going to kill someone they had to be strong, and have an actual reason to die then 'just because.'

"He's more than content to let her be, he's amused that the elders managed to find someone," Kali sighed heavily through her nose, "Right now, he's convinced she doesn't pose that great of a threat and is more useful to us where she is."

Thanos gaped at her statement, "What did he mean by useful?"

Kali shrugged her shoulders, as she went about straightening out her room, temper tantrum now completely over, "Master wants to fight the warriors at their best, remember? The girl seems to be able to quell their fights, most likely the stone around her neck enables her too; in any case, Master thinks she is better off and more helpful to us in that spot."

The male ice demon frowned now, "How much longer do you think it will be before you can gather the last of the energy?"

"I want to wait a bit, the others will be expecting me to strike Wildfire. I still haven't decided on a plan to deal with him yet," Kali righted a table. "There's little point in rushing, those moronic Raikken have barely half of the incantation translated. What good is having all the power if we don't know the sequence and procedure to use it?"

"None I suppose. Though, the containers can hold the power we have saved for a century if not more. Beryl did end up stealing quite useful information and technology, which in turn we borrowed from her."

"Yes, she did, but that's all I give her credit for," Kali muttered, "She was an idiot, nothing more than a puppet on a string. I can't believe Master associated with her, that fool Talpa, or any of the others in the past lives."

Thanos nodded, "I will agree with you there. Unlike them Master has never desired to gain control of this world, or the planets surrounding it. All he wants is to fight worthy opponents to prove his strength."

"I just find it hard to swallow because of how often they went after innocent humans. Honestly where is the fun and honor in picking on such weak creatures?"

Her brother understood where she was coming from, "There is not point to it really. It's much easier to rile the warriors by going after their own kind. I detest the use of innocent humans to get at them, so does Master and he always has."

"There's something else I don't understand," Kali now sat down on her bed, running a brush through her hair, "This Sailor Universe by all rights, should be on our side. All Master Akemliek is trying to do is bring balance to the universe she holds so dear. Warriors like the Ronins and Senshi are far too powerful for this planet to hold for any great length of time. In fact, their powers are far too destructive to do much good when you come right down to it."

"That is also what bothers Master," Thanos commented, "He has tried on countless occasions to get the Scout to see his side of things, and while I think she might understand his point, she disagrees with him. So if she is the one who helped the Ronins and is still alive, I don't think Master Akemliek will care. Her being alive when she is supposed to be dead? It only serves to bring him more amusement."

Kali gave a nod, saying, "In the end, it doesn't really matter does it? Things will end up being just like they were in the last lifetimes. We'll make sure of that."

Thanos let out a deep chuckle, "Yes, with our help Akemliek will soon be free and the warriors will once more be annihilated. There's nothing that can be done to stop us, nothing."

"Don't get over-confident brother," the demonness warned putting down the brush. "We must be cautious in further dealings with the warriors. I'm sure questions have already been raised as to why we've completely drained the armors. It is only a matter of time before the elders tell them of the seal, if they haven't already figured it out for themselves. They will be on guard, of that I am certain."

"Yes, true enough. I will speak with you later Kali, Master has requested my presence," Thanos stated quickly leaving the room.

* * *

"So, she has no definite plan as of yet?" A deep voice filled the cavern, it's owner on the other side of a thick barrier, of what appeared to be ice.

Thanos looked up from his kneeling position, though he knew his Master could not see him, he was always respectful nonetheless.

He paused for a moment thinking it over in his head, "I am sure Kali does have a plan, many of them in fact. However, she has not found one that would bring the best results to honor you, my lord. She will decide on a method of handling the Wildfire Ronin soon…"

The ice demon was unable to go on any further, as his sister came bursting into the cavern, a malicious smile on her lips.

"I have it!" Kali loftily announced, the smile on her face deepening, "I know of a spell that will prevent the victim's element and any outside elemental source, from healing the victim. It'll take Wildfire a great amount of time to recover from the physical and mental strain that was placed on him due to the pain of the other four. Meaning if we were to drain his energy and then use the spell, even if we wait a week or so to attack them, it could be fatal to him."

"Hmmm," the sound of Akemliek stroking his chin in thought reached their ears, "I think I might be willing to go along with that, it'd make one less. What is your plan?"

Kali bowed politely before continuing, "We continue with our normal tactic of separating the warriors from each other, so that they are in small groups. This way they won't expect anything, basically we give them a false sense of security. They know Wildfire is on our list, but I will keep the four other Ronins engaged, that will leave Wildfire for you Thanos."

Thanos tilted his head, his interest slightly piqued by that tidbit of news; he raised an eyebrow waiting for his sister to continue.

"I'm confident I can keep the other four pre-occupied, they will undoubtedly desire to 'get back at me', as the humans say, for what I have done. The spell I know can be used to enchant any object, and once the object makes contact with the victim it takes effect. That leaves Thanos to gather Wildfire's energy and deliver the blow. It would really put a dent in their morale; they're so used to winning."

"Or it could make the warriors band together," Thanos scoffed briefly, before saying, "Though I have to admit, the lines between them all are pretty thin right now. This could push them to the edge if executed correctly."

Silence reigned over the cavern a few moments before Kali inquired softly, "Master?"

"Mm, yes I agree," Akemliek was done thinking over the proposition, "Do what you have to, and strike when you are prepared. The main thing is that you get the energy from the Wildfire armor, if its bearer survives that is fine. It is a mistake I can and will correct later."

"Thank you Master, we shall not fail you," both siblings murmured, bowing before exiting the room.

* * *

_A/N:_

_1 It could also be referred to as the astral plain. Universe comes from a time period in which the term 'astral plain' did not exist, so therefore she refers to it as the meditation field. _


	31. Chapter 30 The Morning After

* * *

**Chapter Thirty: **

'_**The Morning After'**_

* * *

The Leader of the Troopers just couldn't understand what was occurring. He could feel the warmth of her skin against his face and neck as she held him…He could taste the salt of her tears as she wept…But why was she crying? She _never_ cried, not to mention her training forbid her to show any form of emotion.

Rekka and Inferno always kept him warm, to the point where his temperature was almost four degrees above that of a normal person…So, why was he so cold now?

All of a sudden he realized what was wrong…He was dying and past the armors' help.

Though his current state of haziness was heavy, he now understood why she was crying…She was mourning. The others were dead…He could no longer feel the presence of the other Troopers in the back of his mind, and he had witnessed the deaths of the Senshi himself.

'_We failed,' _the thought rang in his head clearly, _'We lost again.'_

Ryo tilted his head up, violet eyes filled with pain, sorrow, and regret stared back at him. The crescent-moon flickered between staying lit and going dark; the four-star shaped jewels in the silver-tiara she wore were already dull signifying the bearers were gone.

He heard her verbal and mental pleas, and desperately he tried to cling on; to evade the steadily growing darkness…But, he was tired now and all he wanted was rest.

"…You promised me!"

Yes, he had promised…Rekka's bearer recalled making it, even though at the time he knew it was an empty promise. Yet, he had wanted to allay her fears then though they had come true now.

A thousand things ran through his mind, feelings and thoughts…There was so much he wanted to tell her, so much he wanted to apologize for. He wanted to re-assure her, there was so much that needed to be said…Unfortunately, he just didn't have the strength to manage it.

The Leader of the Samurai Troopers felt himself pulling away, managing to get out mentally, _'I'm sorry, and I…'_

Yet before he surrendered completely to darkness and death, he heard the grief of the person they always managed to leave behind, _"NO!"_

* * *

Ryo gasped desperately for air as he shot up into a sitting position. His body was covered in a thin layer of sweat, and was trembling because of so many emotions he'd never be able to identify them all.

His hands immediately went to his stomach, trying to cover up a wound…And he checked to make sure it wasn't there.

A low-throaty rumble hit his ears, and without thinking Ryo swung himself so that he was sitting on the bed's edge to face his companion.

Deep-brown eyes were etched with worry and concern, clearly conveying the question: _'What's wrong?'_

Wildfire's bearer threw his arms around the tiger's neck, burying his face into the thick mane…All the while trying to assure himself that he was awake now, and everyone else was okay. White Blaze let out a whine at this, unable to understand what could've possibly upset his cub this much. When Ryo didn't respond to the inquiry, the cat let out a deeper call.

Elayne had dropped what she was doing the minute she had heard Ryo struggling in his sleep…Having been prepared to try and wake him from it, she had gotten to her feet to watch as he practically jumped out of the bed.

Now the girl awkwardly stood by her desk, watching as the white tiger tried to soothe the young man…Silently hoping that it would be enough and that she could stay out of it. She recalled the fact that Ryo had never been a peaceful sleeper, and he had a tendency to have very realistic nightmares. To the point where they were better to be considered as derived from the ability of foresight, than just bad dreams.

Normally, all it took to calm him down was White Blaze's presence; the majestic beast just had a way of causing you to feel safe and secure. Though she could recount a number of times where she had to help.

Elayne's heart-sunk a little when the tiger whined a second time, recognizing the tone and pitch as the one he used when he wanted her…She hesitated a moment, before slowly walking over.

As she moved, her mind turned over what she could possibly do or say…It was hard, things were different now. So much had changed with the passing of time. Wouldn't he just try and brush her off? How was she supposed to even try and approach him in the first place?

Her train of thought abruptly stopped there, as she let herself look over the scene. Seeing just how upset he was brought to mind all the other occasions like this one, and Elayne instantly berated herself.

Time had passed sure, and even though Ryo had changed and matured a lot over the years, he was still the same person she had grown up with. And, she still knew him better than anyone else.

* * *

White Blaze gave her a look to show his displeasure with her taking so long in getting over there. Elayne made a rather unkind gesture with her hand in response to that. Blaze gave a low snort, but didn't make a come back…He was more worried with trying to get his cub tended to than anything else.

Elayne made sure to keep her voice low, "Ryo?"

Though his name had been spoken softly, the young man jumped startled…His head snapped up to look at her. Blue-eyes were wide in surprise, and another emotion was in there she couldn't quite identify.

Ryo felt embarrassed having momentarily forgotten where he was, but he made no move to reply. The Ronin of Wildfire merely looked down at his hands, his breathing now back under control.

The girl frowned, wrinkling her nose in thought before trying again, "Ryo, what is it?" She stopped no more than an arm's length from him after speaking.

The Ronin Leader closed his eyes, murmuring, "It…It was nothing."

"Stop lying, you're horrible at it," she gently chided, brushing his bangs aside. This brief action helped confirm what she thought; he was once again running a fever and a high one at that. Understanding that Ryo wasn't going to freely give any information to her, she decided to press, "Was it about the guys?"

"No," He answered, looking up with a small smile, "They're all right now. What I was feeling and sensing from them before is gone. I'm surprised you didn't notice."

Elayne sat down on the bed next to him with a sigh, kicking off her slippers. She had noticed the four Ronins were back to normal; she let Universe heal them! However, she had no reason to tell him that…It was just one more secret she had to keep.

"I only notice things like that if I check for them. I'm not like you or the others Ryo. I can't sense things and know they're wrong; I have to look to find them. I'm glad they're okay. But right now," She studied him, a stern look on her face, "I'm more concerned about you. What did you see?"

"I…" the Ronin sighed deeply, shutting his eyes tightly as he whispered out, "You're not the only person I've let down."

Acting on sole impulse, Elayne threw her arms around him, "You idiot! When have you _ever_ let me down? You're being silly Ryo; you were always there for me."

"But I wasn't…I," He tried to protest, before giving in and hugging her back.

"Ry-chan," the girl murmured, "We've been through this. I understand why you left, you were doing what you thought was right. I can't, and don't, hold that against you. I trust you, and your judgment Ryo…I may not always agree with it, but that's why you're the hero and I'm not."

Ryo let out a low chuckle, "I'm a hero, eh?"

"You all are in my eyes," Elayne replied pulling back from the hug, "You need to get back to sleep. It's one-thirty."

"Is it really?" Wildfire's bearer yawned until his jaw cracked, and prepared to go back to sleep when a thought struck him, "Wait, have you been up all this time?"

Elayne halted having been moving to get up so she could go back to what she was doing, "Yeah, I work until I get tired. I'm not tired yet."

"You're going to sleep now," Ryo ordered in a commanding tone of voice.

The girl didn't seem fazed by the words, "Not until I've finished…Hey!"

The young man had proceeded to tug her completely into the bed with him, and she hadn't appreciated the action in the least. She glowered up at him in annoyance, and Ryo merely chuckled at the dark look he was getting.

His amusement was soon replaced with concern, "You need sleep just like the rest of us. What you're doing to yourself isn't healthy."

Elayne worked her jaw thinking up some witty retort to that, but decided against it, "There are easier ways, more _gentle _ways, to convey the fact you need company."

"That…That has nothing to do with it!" He sputtered out, a slight tint coming to his cheeks due to his embarrassment.

"Ya right," she said with a snort, "This is _you _we're talking about, so it had to be part of it. Just go back to sleep Ryo."

There was silence for a few moments, before he asked in a hesitant voice, "You'll stay?"

"Mhm," Elayne answered watching him out of the corner of her eye, seeing that he immediately relaxed upon hearing this.

"Thanks," he breathed out, quickly falling back into the land of slumber.

The girl merely shook her head at Ryo; partially amused at his antics which reminded her of the six-year-old he had been, yet deeply troubled by the fact that whatever the Ronin had seen had disturbed him _this_ badly. Elayne let out a yawn, too tired to keep thinking about what it possibly could have been she permitted herself to fall asleep.

* * *

**Next Day**

Ryo exited the room quietly, White Blaze no more than a step behind him. The young man cast one last look at the girl's sleeping form, smiled and closed the door. He was silent as he walked down the one flight of stairs to the second floor landing, quickly slipping into the room he shared with the others.

Yes, the tension and darkness in the room was gone…What had been plaguing the other four had been taken care of. Ryo quickly put on a fresh change of clothes, and left…Blaze having had waited for him out in the hall.

The tiger looked up at him a slight question in his face, and Wildfire's bearer merely smiled in response to it, before walking down the remaining flight of stairs and into the living room. Knowing that it would only be a few minutes before the early risers of the house would be up.

White Blaze gave a yawn, and waited patiently for his breakfast which Ryo was quick to prepare for him.

The Ronin of Wildfire offered a grin to the cat, "You're lazy Blaze, why can't you go catch something?"

The look on the tiger's clearly conveyed the fact that he only hunted when he felt like it. It was much easier for him to get food from Ryo then it was to chase something down and kill it.

Ryo merely chuckled, placing the dish in front of the large cat…Affectionately running a hand over his head, before getting up and going back into the living room to sit down.

Aurora stretched as she made her way down the stairs, halting slightly upon seeing the Wildfire Ronin, "Ryo? Did you spend the night out here?"

She frowned slightly seeing that he had changed clothing, how'd he pull that one off?

"Morning Orey," he acknowledged having started to doze off, "No, I managed to find a place to sleep."

She raised a blonde eyebrow at him seeing his sleepy state, "Looks like you didn't get enough."

"Same could be said of you," He retorted effortlessly, referring to the fact she had just yawned.

"Touché," the Elemental Leader commented as she made the few remaining paces to the kitchen.

It struck Aurora as odd for a house, especially one in Japan, to have such an open floor plan like the Shinwako mansion did…But, it did allow a person to move from one part of the house to another fairly fast. So she couldn't complain.

"Morning," Lita called, fussing with the sleeves on her pink shirt, before giving up. She studied Ryo for a minute, "Mm, with the beating you got last night you look pretty good."

"Thanks I think," He chuckled in amusement, knowing he had quite the black-eye, and a small cut above his right brow.

"Anytime," the young woman quipped before beginning her own kitchen duties. She had quickly gotten over whatever crushes she had on the Ronins, though every now and then you could catch her day dreaming.

"Hi Amara," Aurora said to the woman as she entered from the backyard.

She gave a slight nod in acknowledgement and paused briefly, before speaking in a tone flecked with confusion, "The atmosphere has changed."

Both women and Ryo looked at the Sailor of Uranus puzzled…Waiting for her to further elaborate, which she was quick to do.

Amara rolled her eyes, "The tension in the house is gone, as long with whatever else was looming over it."

"That's good though, isn't it?" Lita inquired, chopping up a few onions before placing them in a frying pan with whatever else she was cooking.

Before Amara could open her mouth to reply, Rei brought in quickly, "Yes, it means the negative energy affecting us won't be an issue. But it's also a 'no'; since someone would have had to cleanse the house, and I didn't do it."

The Fire Scout had come down the steps with the remaining Elemental Senshi, and the Sailor of Mercury as well as Venus. The remaining Outer Senshi had come in from outside, apparently they had been out having their routine training session.

"Maybe Kayura did it?" Kirstin offered, sliding into her seat while rubbing at her eyes and yawning. Inwardly, she knew that part of the reason for the change was because the dark magic used on the Ronins had been lifted…But that alone wouldn't have been enough to get rid of all the negative chi the house had absorbed.

"No, sorry wasn't me," Kayura commented, helping the cooks get the food to the table. She knew the Elementals were tired, as was Ryo, so she didn't expect them to do much in way of chores today.

"But who did then?" Michelle murmured brows furrowed, as the rest of the house final filed into the dining area (minus the four other Ronins).

"Elayne," Hotaru stated in a definite tone, picking out what she wanted to eat and placing it on her plate. The lingering quiet at the table seemed like a good invitation to continue so she did, "Rei, you learned how to do things of that nature from your grandfather, and as part of your duties as a miko. You've known Elayne ever since she got back from America, right?"

"Longer, actually," the Senshi of Mars admitted, "I knew her before she left, we just didn't start hanging out until after she came back. Where are you going with this?"

"It's more than possible that she asked Grandfather Hino to teach her how to do a cleansing," the Warrior of Saturn said calmly. "We all know, have known that she has abilities. While they're not anywhere near on our level, they're far stronger than what those of the supernatural community possess."

Rini looked up from her plate, a frown framing her small face, "You guys didn't think she wouldn't try and learn how to control them, did you?"

"Well," Callista gave a light shrug of her shoulders, "I don't think we expected her to go so far."

"How is that going too far?" the frown deepened due to her confusion, "You're her friends, family in some respects, and guard the planet on more than a daily basis. You each have your own strength and great powers, and it does take something out of you to fight. Elayne has a few gifts…Did you actually expect her to sit around and do nothing, when she can be of some small help?"

Ami shook her head in amusement, "Rini's right, Elayne does think that way. It would make sense that she'd go through the trouble of learning what she could. That way she could offer us something more than just moral support."

'_Moral support?'_ Ryo smiled to himself, _'She's already given us, so much more than just that even without using the crystal.'_

"Let's just ask her; if and when she ever decides to join us," Mina spoke in-between forkfuls of food, "Normally, she tries to stay out of our way for as long as possible…And with what's happened the past few nights? It's likely she won't come down at all."

* * *

Everyone at the table gave solemn nods in agreement with that statement. Silence continued to reign over the table for the next twenty minutes, with the other Ronin still not having shown…But, that really didn't surprise a one of them. If they were back, which it most certainly did feel that way, then the four young men needed a chance to catch up on their missed rest.

However, a certain Seasonal was tiring of listening to the sounds of the Senshi eat…Which could be rather grating on one's nerves, especially when you were almost five hundred –years-old.

"So…" Dais cleared his throat, eye resting on Ryo, "Did you find the files?"

A sly grin crept across the young man's features, as he stirred from his thoughts, "Yeah, wasn't that hard to get access to them. Elayne already gave out the password, probably didn't think I'd remember it."

A few of the women stopped eating, or slowed in the activity, to shoot glances at the group. The question so visibly hung in the air that there wasn't need to voice it.

Cale cleared his throat and took the initiative, "We've been trying to narrow down information on this 'Akemliek' character on our own time. Anubis came across a hidden file on that computer contraption, but we needed an access code of some sort…"

"On Layne's computer?" Mina piped up in slight confusion.

"No, it's that ancient thing stuck in the back corner," The Seasonal of Spring explained, with a slight wave of his hand as if in dismissal, "Probably as old as I am. She said it might be worth looking at, but she doubted it. Well, I stumbled onto something that I needed a password for…"

Callista shook her head in amusement, "And you chose Ryo to be the guinea pig. That way he'd get killed, and you would not share any of the blame. Very brave."

"We thought so too," Sekhmet said with a wide grin, sniggering at the evil look the Ronin of Wildfire gave.

"They're also leaving out the fact, they needed a floppy disk. Which I ended up borrowing," Ryo brought in, shifting slightly in his seat not enjoying the fact he was currently the center of attention.

"You're dead when Elayne finds out you stole it," Rini told the adult in a matter-of-fact tone.

Before further talk could be made, a noise came from the stairwell…Someone was chuckling in amusement. The table went silent almost immediately, and all heads snapped up and over to where the sound had come from.

Kento was resting against the banister for support, his arms were folded across his chest and a small smile graced his face. For the first time since the attack, his eyes were bright and clear; "He's been marked for death ever since the two of them re-united…If you can call _that_ a reunion."

Against the wall opposite the stairs, leaned a familiar auburn-haired form; hands shoved into the pockets of his pants. Moments before his sea-green eyes had been scanning the room around him, now they were focused on those sitting at the table.

Hearing Kento's comment, Cye remarked with mirth, "The only reason Ryo is breathing still, is because Elayne thinks the Armor of Wildfire's bearer might be more useful to us alive."

"That," Rowen brought in as he descended the last few stairs, "Or, she can't settle on a method of executing him."

He straightened the sleeves to his shirt, casting a quick glance over his shoulder to his blonde friend.

Sage chuckled low in his throat, "Knowing Elayne as well as I do? It's definitely the latter."

Cye and Kento both gave nods in acknowledgement of the words, and then sat down at the table.

* * *

Silence reigned over the table for several minutes, everyone looking to the four young men and then at each other…Trying to figure out some way to proceed…Or whether they should try and proceed at all. The Seasonals, however, carried on like normal…They were already aware of what had happened, Kayura had explained it to them just before getting to the table.

The Elemental Senshi did not seem concerned either, though they did sneak glances every now and then…Just to make sure that the young men were actually there, and not figments of their imagination.

Rowen had been watching everything out-of-the-corner of his eyes, and just as he finished swallowing, he put his fork down, inquiring coolly, "Okay, when did we become a spectator sport?"

This comment got him a few squeaks of embarrassment, and the pleasure of watching the older Senshi fumble for some sort of response. Trista, as always, seemed unbothered by the current situation, and the corners of her lips twitched upward in amusement.

Even the Elementals were having a problem, except for the Earth Warrior who slyly commented, "You've always been one. After all, you guys are the hottest males this side of the planet."

"Gee, thanks for the compliment Kirstin," Kento chortled out with a shake of his head, "But he has a point, what are you gaping at us for?"

"We're not gaping at you," Callista defensively said, a smirk on her face, "We're 'politely' staring."

"Is that what you call it?" Cye commented with a touch of sarcasm, before saying, "Be serious, all. What's the matter? I rather thought we were past the ogling stage in our relationship."

Kayura let out a snort, "That'll be the day." She then cupped a hand to her mouth adding, "Whoops, said that aloud."

Rowen snickered softly to himself at that one, before drumming his fingers against the table in impatience waiting for someone to explain.

"You guys wouldn't by any chance remember last night?" Lita blurted out, before rubbing at her neck a nervous smile on her face.

Cye shook his head, "No, we're all drawing a blank on that. The night before…" He looked to Sage for a moment, noting the man's eyes were shut tightly, "That we remember."

"The past few weeks are really blurry," the Strata Ronin admitted, "Some points I recall, others I can't. So…"

"If we did anything mean, or stupid we apologize," Kento brought in with a smile, "Forgive us?"

Having been affected for the least amount of time meant his memory was near-to-perfectly intact. While the others had no recollection of last night, the Hardrock Ronin remembered it all he just would not say anything about it. What had happened could not be changed but he knew if Cye or Sage found out…Well, it was best they never know…Ryo wouldn't have wanted them to remember it. As for why Rowen didn't remember, maybe he did and just wasn't going to say anything.

The Strata Ronin frowned when he noticed that all the Senshi were looking to Ryo, and Kento struck that last thought from his head…Rowen didn't remember at all.

'_Spell musta messed with his head or someone made him forget,' _Kento closed his eyes a moment, the next time he saw their 'unofficial' helper, he was going to ask her a few questions.

The Ronin of Wildfire let out a slight chuckle and said, "Apology accepted. But, you are still going to have to ask forgiveness from someone else."

Everyone at the table visibly flinched…That probably would not be a pretty thing to witness. Somehow they all doubted Elayne would be as forgiving as Ryo had been.

"I know," Sage murmured out, "Myself, more-so than anyone else."

"No Sage, we wanted her out of here as much as you did," the Torrent Ronin brought in, eyeing some of the Senshi, "And, if I might be so bold as to state, that the Senshi wanted her gone more than we did."

Serena could already feel the annoyance from her Scouts and just by looking at Amara, she could tell a small verbal bout was soon to occur. That's why she ended it before it could begin, "You're right, we've been urging her to stay out of the way."

"We normally do," Ami spoke up, "She might have that crystal, but we don't like to risk the chance of her getting hurt. She's used to us telling her to stay away, but she didn't expect to hear it from you. At least, I don't think she expected you to do it the way you did."

"She isn't the only one," the swordsman muttered under his breath, brushing a loose strand of blonde hair out of his face, "So, I take it something important happened last night?"

"NO!" It was a near-collective shout, and the three Ronin blinked in surprise, while Kento merely dropped his head to the table, banging his forehead against the wood. _That_, had been brilliant of them, the Hardrock Ronin thought with much sarcasm, now they would want to know what happened!

"Uh, that is, um," Mina fumbled, silently pleading for assistance.

The Seasonals exchanged looks with one another; do they help out, or sit and remain silent? They had noticed Ryo wasn't speaking much. He was undoubtedly exhausted from the previous night and with all the stress the armors had placed on him lately, it would take some time before he was back to his normal self. In fact, he looked two seconds away from falling asleep at the table…They decided to intervene, if only slightly.

"Not so important, that you have a need to remember it," the Seasonal of Winter commented, folding his arms across his chest, "It's best if it remains lost."

"Thanks for that tid-bit of wisdom," the Ronin of Halo commented rolling his eyes.

"Look, it's over and done with," Ryo spoke up calmly, fighting down an urge to yawn, "It definitely wasn't one of our best moments, so it's better if you don't remember. What matters is we are all in one piece, and for the moment the worst is over. Kali lost."

* * *

Kento saw an opportunity presented to him, and opted to take it. Right now, he was certain the Ronin of Wildfire could do with some lightening up. He leaned over to Cye as if to whisper something to his best friend. Yet, he kept his tone loud enough for everyone to hear, "I thought he was turning into Sage, but I've changed my mind."

"Oh?" the Torrent Ronin inquired with a slight grin; somehow he already knew where this was going.

"Ya," Kento was grinning smugly, "Ryo gets any wiser, and _he'll_ become a monk."

The stab at humor for a good part was lost on the Senshi, they didn't quite get the parallels there…However, the other Ronins and the Seasonals understood what Kento was hinting at.

Cye had easily cracked up, shaking his head in slight disbelief that his friend would go so far as to say that. But he had to admit, the mental image provided was hysterical.

The normally reserved-Halo Ronin was laughing so hard, he was actually clutching his sides. Once more he found himself thankful for Kento and the man's timely humor. Being able to picture Ryo in the Ancient's attire, came all too easily to Sage…He could see the straw-brimmed hat falling over his friend's entire face, rather than just covering his eyes.

Rowen was coughing, his throat dry from laughing so hard. He could almost hear Ryo swearing at the hat for falling into his face, and then trying to use the staff to tip the hat back, but smacking himself in the head instead.

Anubis and Kayura were practically in tears; that was one mental image they weren't likely to forget anytime soon. The former follower and the current one both had enjoyed the comment; that stupid hat had always given _them_ problems.

Ryo might have looked peeved, but his eyes were lit up with mischief. Now, he knew for certain that his four friends were perfectly fine…And, he planned to take advantage of it; "Kento…"

The Warrior of Strength beamed at his leader, "I'm dead, I know. Let's take this to the living room; I'm sure everyone would like to finish their breakfast."

Wildfire's bearer watched as his friend made a beeline for the living room, and then got up himself, and ran after him.

Kento dodged his friend's form, but Ryo reached out with his hand and grabbed Kento by the ankle, giving a firm tug, and bringing the stockier man down with a loud thud.

* * *

Amara chuckled to herself at the display, before getting to her feet, gathering up her dishes and placing them in the sink. Michelle followed behind her, and once the two were in the kitchen, they slipped out the sliding-glass door. Trista exchanged a knowing look with Lindsay, before getting up and doing the same. The four of them had somewhere they needed to be.

Hotaru huffed to herself, violet eyes turning from where they had gone back to the brawl taking place in the living room. She giggled softly, the Ronins were adults and yet they were acting like teenagers…For the first time in a good while.

The Ronin of Wildfire and that of Hardrock were currently involved of a game of who-can-pin-who first, neither was having much luck getting the upper-hand.

"You shouldn't have said it Kento!" Cye had gotten a hold on his laughter, and was now watching the two with an amused smile.

Sage chuckled, saying rather tauntingly, "You knew the consequences."

"Shut-up guys!" Kento barked at them, not at all thrilled with their 'encouragement.' He was struggling to get out of the headlock Ryo now had him in, and not doing that well.

"'Sides Kento, you know it'll never happen," the Ronin of Strata was wearing one of his grins, the one he wore when he knew something and the rest of the world didn't. It was that look that people always managed to catch and question him on, and now he was just waiting for someone to take the bait he had laid.

"Oh," Cye noticed the look on the man's face, and knew the meaning behind it, but he decided to play along, "Why not, Rowen?"

"Because…" He paused for effect, and once he was sure he had everyone's attention, "Ryo'd never get a kiss out of Elayne."

Once more laughter rang throughout the mansion, but it was much louder than the last time. Kento was laughing too hard to fight, and subsequently Ryo dropped his hold on the man to glare at Strata.

Sage was nearly doubled over this time; '_Is it just me, or is there a slight rose-tint to Ryo's cheeks?'_ He looked to Cye, trying vainly to brush the tears from his eyes.

The Water Ronin gave a nod answering, _'It isn't just you Sage.'_

"That's not even funny, Rowen!" Ryo snapped out, he did not find that comment funny at all.

Rowen merely gave his smug _'I-so-got-you' _grin saying in a neutral tone, "It wasn't meant to be funny."

Ryo's eyes briefly flashed, and he rolled up his sleeves, fully prepared to give Rowen a lesson in manners…But, someone beat him to the punch.

In the span of several seconds, the archer found himself being yanked from his chair, tossed into the living room, and somehow ended up with his face almost buried in the carpet.

Rowen blinked his eyes slowly sliding into focus, vaguely aware of his arm being held behind him, and that a knee was applying slight pressure into his back.

He gave a slight moan then grumbled, "Ow… Sage's dad should've never taught you the moves he uses on the police force."

Elayne gave his arm a slight twist, a bored expression playing her face, "I'm waiting."

"Nu-uh, I'm not saying it. You can't make me," He taunted her, once more grinning. The last time she had 'rough-housed' with him, had been when he was like twelve…It had been ages.

"You never learn, do ya Rowie?" She now sank her other knee into his back, "Say it."

"Aww, can't you bury that nickname?" He whined in complaint, he hated being called 'Rowie' it sounded like a really bad dog's name, "For the last time: no!"

"Ha, not a chance," she only called him that name, because she knew he hated it, "And, suit yourself." Elayne impishly smirked, giving his arm a very sharp and painful twist, and then applied further pressure on his back.

"Okay, Okay, UNCLE!!" Rowen yelped out, struggling to get free from her iron-clad grasp. He _knew _her strength had to do with something Kento had taught her, it had to…He was going to get Hardrock for that at a later date…Yeah, most definitely.

"I win!" She happily declared, releasing Rowen from his painful position.

She proceeded to waltz over to the table, claiming Rowen's vacated seat as her own. She tilted her head and flashed Sage a wide grin, as he was sitting in the next chair, "Remind me to thank Dad, the next time I see him."

Ryo threw a scathing look to Rowen, before sitting down with a huff in annoyance…Seeing this both Rowen and Kento sniggered.

* * *

Sage chuckled slightly, turning his attention to the girl, "Sure, I will. Just promise you won't use that move on me."

"Now," Elayne paused from eating the piece of toast she had grabbed, "Why would I want to use that on you? It'd ruin your perfectly good face." She winked at him, "'Sides, he wouldn't teach me unless I promised that I wouldn't use it on you."

Sage now smirked, taking a glance at Ryo, "Okay, works for me. But you just had to come to your boyfriend's aid, huh?"

"SAGE!" Ryo snapped, and hurriedly looked in the opposite direction of the table full of people. Hoping that no one would catch on to the fact that he was again blushing; the snickering that came with his action assured him that his stunt had not worked.

Elayne chewed, swallowed, and gave an unimpressed yawn, "You know that kind of goading doesn't work on me Nii-chan. Plus, you keep it up and I'm sending those incrementing pictures home."

Sage blinked in surprise at hearing 'Nii-chan' it was what Satsuki always called him; after being exposed to his family so much, naturally Elayne had picked it up. But, he hadn't been called 'Nii-chan' by either girl in ages, so it was odd to hear it after all this time.

"You wouldn't do that to him," Cye said with a chuckle in amusement.

Elayne raised a dark eyebrow at the Torrent Ronin, "Why? I'm going to do it to you and the others, too. You guys just keep pressing…I will retaliate."

"An!" Rowen yelped out in protest.

"I'm part Sicilian," Elayne said with a scoff to the scandalous looks she was receiving, "The mafia's been known to do worse."

"Incriminating photos?" Rei asked, confusion on her face.

Elayne smiled sweetly, "Photos with them and members of the opposite sex, namely you gals. I know none of you are doing the 'romantic relationship' thing, but their families don't know that."

"You're horrible!" Callista commented with a small laugh; it got louder when Elayne practically beamed at what she considered to be praise.

"Blackmail," Rowen muttered under his breath, massaging his still sore arm.

Elayne tipped up her head to look at him; he had moved behind her and was glowering at her for being in his seat.

She then stuck her tongue out, "You're just jealous because I outsmarted you, again."

"We all know how well Rowen handles that," Cye chortled out, watching the archer with an amused grin.

The blue-haired man glared at the Water Ronin saying teasingly, "You wanna piece of me, Fish Boy?"

Cye let a smirk claim his features, as he got up from the table, "Sure. I stand a pretty good shot; after all you did just get beaten-up by a girl!"

"Why you! You try and handle Universe's re-incarnation sometime, see how far you get!" Rowen defended with, before the brawl ensued.

Kento was grinning again, that comment definitely needed to be elaborated on.

"Say it and I'll go twice as hard on you." the girl warned, knowing exactly what was going to come out of his mouth. One of the advantages of knowing Kento for so long was that you could predict what he was going to say.

The Ronin of Hardrock pouted a little at being caught before he could execute his plan, "You aren't any fun, Layne."

She rolled her eyes but said nothing in response, only casting a side-ways glance at Sage after he tapped her on the shoulder. Her expression clearly conveyed her question, _'what'?_

"We need to talk," he murmured quietly, looking down at the table before back to her, "Later."

Elayne sighed heavily through her nose, "All right, fine." She quickly turned her attention back to the fight, and then vacated the first-floor for the safety of the second as it escalated into a full-fledge brawl.

* * *

_'At least it's better than the one last night,' _she thought dryly, this fight was in play, last night's had been with deadly-intent. How had things spiraled out of control right now? Well, Rowen had insulted Kento, then Cye insulted Ryo, and the four together made an unwise comment to Sage, who threw himself into the mess without another thought.

It was amusing to her to see them act like teenagers again, maybe it was something about this area that just managed to bring out the positive…Though the new energy in the house definitely came from the cleaning she had executed early that morning, just before the rest of the house decided to stir.

_'Three millennia old,' _White Blaze grumbled out, flicking his tail in slight annoyance.

Elayne was leaning over the railing to get a better look, before turning to the tiger, "They have the right to act childish, with all they've been through. What they've yet to go through…"

_'You've been seeing things that have yet to happen?' _he queried, rubbing his head against her leg.

She gave a nod, bending down to scratch between his ears, "Last night could have been worse than it was, but they're not out of the woods yet." Her eyes landed on Ryo for a moment, before she returned them to the tiger, "But, I think they'll be okay for now."

Yes, for now, everything was right in the world…But, one had to wonder just how long it would last. With as relentless as the enemy was proving themselves to be, White Blaze doubted it would be very long before they struck again.

_A/N: Wow, we're at the Thirty chapter mark. Meaning, only ten more chapters ramaining in Book One. Looking forward to the end?_


	32. Chapter 31: An Enlightening Discussion

_A/N: Here is the start of your three chapter update, enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-One**

"**An Enlightening Discussion" **

* * *

"Where are you going?" the swordsman asked in confusion, having entered the room after she said he could. Halo's bearer had immediately noticed that the girl was shoving stuff into an overnight bag.

Elayne stopped and looked up at him, pushing the hair out of her face, "Need more clothes than what I left at the apartment. I've lost a few outfits since I took Cye's kind offer."

"That's something else we need to cover," Sage murmured quietly, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

Elayne frowned at him, her eyes flickered slightly, but she did her best to push her feelings aside. She asked in a neutral tone, "What did you want to talk about, Nii-chan?"

The young man let out a sigh, running a hand through his blond locks. His brows furrowed together as he tried to think of the right way to word what he wanted to say. He had known the girl standing before him for a long time, and the downside to that was he was over-protective of her…Just like he was of his blood-sisters.

"I wanted to apologize," he took a deep breath, before continuing, "I didn't mean to say what I did. I just, I wanted to try and keep you safe. I didn't want you here."

"Mission accomplished, I'm leaving," she retorted in a bitter tone, zipping her bag shut. She tried to walk past him, fury present in her steps, and he grabbed her by the wrist.

"Stop, all right?" Sage asked in a pleading tone of voice. "Listen to what I have to say, and then you can be unreachable."

"Me unreachable?" Elayne snorted at him, "Have you looked in a mirror lately, Nii-chan?"

He dropped his hold on her wrist, closing his eyes for a moment, trying to clear his head and think. He had _never _been good at this, even Rowen who barely had any social skills was better at conversations than he was. Not to mention the fact Sage had to ask for forgiveness here, and he wasn't good at that either.

Right now the Ronin of Halo was silently cursing the fates for handing him the lot in life that required him to be a statue…Or etiquette robot, take your pick.

Never show any emotion whatsoever, always do as you're told, respect your elders, never question…Sage was raised to be a certain way, and he had adhered to the things he was taught.

Not strictly, but as close to the word as possible. The others had managed to break through his shell, to get him to loosen up a little…And after all this time, it most assuredly had helped him. Yet, it had not been enough to get him to relax completely around the other Ronins. The only one who knew how to accurately read his emotions was Rowen, and at times there were things even Strata's bearer could not pick up on.

That had never been a problem for Elayne; she had always been able to read him like a book. Even when there was no emotion showing in his face, she knew what he was thinking and feeling…Or, she _had._

Distance and time had had managed to change quite a lot…When he had realized that he'd be staying with the others in Tokyo, he had a small amount of hope to try and fix the friendship. He had not really felt like losing another sibling, but with what he had done not more than two days ago…He was sure whatever small amount of trust she might have had in him was gone.

* * *

Elayne tilted her head studying him from the briefest of moments, and she sighed herself as the minutes passed and he staid silent.

"Stop brooding," She ridiculed lightly, plucking him in the nose.

Sage jumped back startled at the sudden action, blinking his eyes rapidly as he came out of his thoughts, "What?"

"You're brooding," the girl commented in a matter-of-fact tone, "I told you to quit. Just say what's on your mind Sage, I'm listening."

The swordsman of Halo gave a quiet laugh, "You do know me too well. All right, so long as you promise to kill me only after I've finished talking."

Elayne grinned at him, quipping, "Okay, I promise. I'll hold any and all psychotic outbursts until after the commercial break."

"You're something else," he chuckled out, before becoming solemn. "I am sorry for what I said, but not my reasoning behind doing it. I didn't want to get you involved in this, I was afraid the enemy would find an excuse to harm you…And, I wanted to make sure that didn't happen. Though, it occurred anyway even after what I did. I realize you can defend yourself, I'm not disputing that. I just feel responsible for your well-being…"

"And if you can prevent me from getting hurt by the bad guys, you'll do the hurting instead. Because at least I'll be able to walk away alive," she finished for him, watching in amusement at his look of surprise.

"Are you reading my thoughts?" He inquired, one eyebrow raised in suspicion.

Elayne laughed at him, shaking her head in mirth, "Nii-chan, I don't have to scan you to know what's on your mind; I never have. I understand what you were trying to accomplish, and while I respect it I don't agree with it. It's my choice, Nii-chan, it's my life. You can't baby-sit me anymore than you can Yuli, we're not little kids anymore and you have to accept that."

Sage tilted his head to the side, the hair that normally hung over his eye moved aside, and both eyes peered at her curiously, "You know Yuli?"

She gave a slight laugh, "Ya, by accident. He and I literally crashed into each other, but that's beside the point. You can't always protect us, and you can't tell us what to do. Your heroes, I get that; you've got powers and abilities I'll never comprehend and it's your job to fight the demons that find it necessary to wreak havoc in this world, I understand that too."

Elayne paused saying quietly, "However, if they're going to come after me, they can. I am not going to stop living my life because a few idiot demons think they can get to you guys through me. If they wanted me dead, they would have killed me a long time ago. They want to try and use me as a pawn for their sick little games? They can be my guest, because I don't plan to cooperate in the slightest. I've already proven more of a challenge than I'm worth."

"Elayne," he began, only to fall silent as she raised her hand.

"Look, they can't do anything to me that they haven't already tried," she said calmly, "There's a lot about me you don't know Nii-chan, I may look innocent and appear naïve, but you know I'm not. I know just as well as you do the nature of these types of things. If I find myself increasingly in jeopardy, or there ends up being more than I can handle…Then, I'll let you know. "

The Ronin of Halo eyed her carefully, "How is it you've been dealing with Raikken this long, and haven't said a word about it?"

"Because you had demons and sorcerers to worry about defeating?" She offered, saying in slight exasperation, "What was I going to say, Sage? _Oh, by the way I want you to know I'm being hunted by these weird-looking soldier things. _Ya, right. You wouldn't have believed me, and even if you did what were you going to do? Lock me in a tower and throw away the key? Besides, it would've been a fiasco if you guys found out about the Raikken before the Senshi."

"I was right," he murmured out softly, "You did know this would happen. You've known all along, even back when we were fighting Talpa, haven't you?"

"You're giving me way too much credit Nii-chan," She said with a snort, "I'm not that smart, and I was too little to think anything of it. When I came back to Japan? Oh, I had a hunch you guys might cross paths sometime. Then there was those research notes…And," she shook her head slightly almost having let something out, she didn't want him to know, "Anyway, I knew last year that it'd come to this."

Sage frowned a little, "And you couldn't offer any forewarning because Serenity and the Ancient approached you, after you put the pieces together?"

"Eh, ya basically. They contacted me as their last resort, not even five minutes after I had gone over everything," she admitted with a sheepish grin, saying quietly, "And even if I had said something, things wouldn't be any different than they are now. They'd probably be worse; the only reason Thanos and Kali are striking now is because the last evil failed and Akemliek gave them the go ahead. You all would've been up-tight with anxiousness over the long wait."

"Elayne the last villain anyone fought against was one of the Senshi's. That fight was three-years-ago," the swordsman had his eyebrows raised.

"Akemliek doesn't know that, he has no bearing on time," she commented having moved over to the table sorting through the papers trying to find one in particular, "When the Senshi won, he didn't find out about it until early last year."

"How do you know that?" he inquired voice tinged with disbelief.

She threw her older brother a wry grin, "You're not the only one who has had dealings with a certain 'guardian,' and I don't mean Kayura."

"Universe?" He looked up at her sharply, eyes narrowing as he thought it over, "Why would she…"

"I have her jewel is why," Elayne held up the chain to the crystal she wore, the jewel chimed at the action as if agreeing with her, "She can't take it back, because they would know she's alive. Plus, she doesn't want to leave me without something to protect myself. If she were to take it back, that doesn't mean the Raikken will stop coming after me. She's as paranoid as you Nii-chan."

"I'm not paranoid, merely cautious," Sage grumbled out, not amused with the comment.

"Ya right, tell that to Ryo. He'll laugh in your face," Elayne gave another snort, and rolled her eyes, "You are _so_ paranoid."

"We're getting off topic," he huffed out, arms crossed in front of his chest.

Elayne sniggered at his annoyance, but consented, "All right fine. I promise, if it gets too bad, I'll come here and you guys can baby-sit me to your little hearts content. But, I still have a job and other responsibilities and I am not going to surrender my life, just because you wanna keep me in a bubble and safe from all harm. Do we have a deal?"

Sage blinked at her trying to figure out what on earth she meant, and said slowly, "Ya, okay fine. I can live with that, but if you don't make that call I will. And when I say you're done, I mean it."

The girl gave an inward groan, Drat. Sage knew her way too well…Ah, she couldn't win all the time. Plus, he'd probably be too busy in the coming weeks to know if she was in over-her-head…Then again, he was an empath and if he put his mind to it, she was sure he could sense her state. Double drat.

"All right," Elayne grumbled out with a sigh…Sage merely smirked at her in response.

"So, are we done talking?" She inquired tilting her head to wait for his answer.

"Yes, I think so," his eyes widened as she proceed to retrieve her dagger and pointed the blade at him, "What are you doing?"

"You made me promise to kill you after we finished talking," Elayne responded calmly, beaming at the scowl on his face. She just had to get the last word in; she really loved being the younger sister.

* * *

**Somewhere in Tokyo**

The Outer Senshi had been quick to depart from the house, though Hotaru had lingered for a bit so as not to draw attention. Now the five young women were lounging around a small park somewhere in Tokyo; at this time of day most people were at work and the children in school. So the area was blessedly free of passersby.

As for the reasoning behind them being here now, it was mainly at Trista's prompting. The Guardian of Time had received a note from an 'anonymous person' asking for the Outer Senshi to meet up in this part of the park on this date. No time had been given, so now it was a matter of waiting for someone to show up.

The note had been to the point, but basically it said that if they wanted answers to their questions they had to come.

Michelle briefly ran a hand through her hair, taking a quick glance at her wrist-watch before returning her eyes to the area around her. She was looking for anything abnormal, but could find nothing.

Amara was dozing, her back against one of the trees using it as a support, her arms were crossed in front of her chest.

Lindsay and Hotaru occupied the park bench, the green-haired woman was writing away in the notebook she normally carried with her. Every now and then she'd stop her frantic writing, to ask Hotaru for a synonym for a certain word. Well, after thirty minutes of this the Senshi of Saturn's patience was just about gone.

Trista also appeared to be dozing, though in all actuality she was searching for the person that was supposed to be coming. She was reaching out with her senses and scanning to see if there were any abnormalities that might indicate when the person would show.

"This is dull," Hotaru complained with a grumble, after supplying Lindsay with word number fifty.

Amara opened her eyes, snorting out, "Better than being stuck at the mansion, or being at work."

"Mm," the Senshi of Neptune gave a nod in agreement, "While I don't mind the Ronins, I fail to see why it is necessary for us all to remain in the same place. I also do not understand the need for our involvement."

A low chuckling resounded about the immediate area, and all five women jumped into ready stances, hands curling around their transformation pendants.

The person's laughter ended and she asked in a smooth voice, "Perhaps I can explain?" She then added, amusement reflected in her tone, "Now, now minna. No need to fight me, not what I'm here for."

Amara's eyes widened slightly, before narrowing as she murmured to herself, "I know that voice." She called out in annoyance, "Show yourself!"

"Haruka-chan, you're awfully impatient today," the woman teased, before jumping out from a shadow, landing before them.

"You!" the Senshi of Neptune gasped out, very much taken aback by seeing the person now before them.

* * *

She was a Sailor Senshi though her uniform colors were dark, a combination of black and purples. Violet-eyes regarded them calmly, though they were cold and bitter resentment lay just beneath their surface.

"Hello Michiru," she acknowledged with a nod, eyeing the other three who had yet to speak.

"Universe-sama," Hotaru breathed out, "You are the one who wished to speak with us. But, why have you come from the future?"

"You have questions, and I have the answers," the Scout smiled kindly at the youngest of the Senshi as she ran a hand through her pure silver hair. With each year that had passed, and as often as she had been forced to reach her power's limit, the strain and stress had turned her hair to its current color.

"I can't believe it," the Sailor of Uranus murmured, eyeing the Scout's appearance with skepticism written on her face. The change of uniform, the fact that her tiara now had a single black-crystal in the middle, and that the jewels that had been there previously were now in the choker around her neck, all pointed to one thing. "You're a Neo-Scout."

"I know, even after they said I'd never be able to attain the level while the rest of you could," she shook her head in amusement, "In the end, Fate just decided to do what it wanted too. I came from the Future, since you cannot find the answers you need."

"But," Lindsay slowly inquired coming out her daze, "You can't do that, can you?"

Neo-Universe laughed at the woman, "I am a time guardian, as you all know. However, Pluto is the primary guardian, while I am the secondary. If anything were to happen to her, then I would take her place and be bound by the same rules that she is. However, as it is, I am not forced to follow the rules of "non-interference" being the secondary guardian."

"Meaning you can tell us what is going on," Michelle murmured out in understanding.

"Yes, and I'll start with your comment first," She took a pause for breath, before saying coolly, "The reason for staying with the Ronin is simple; safety and strength in numbers. While you may not realize it, your powers do feed off of one another. For now it is best if you remain together, for there is a battle coming that requires you all to fight in it. After that, and you will know it when it comes, you and the Inner may go back to fighting the way you see best."

"Why are we hanging around till that point?" Lindsay pressed.

"The seal on my powers can only be annulled by the Senshi's combined power. And you won't be leaving the issue completely after this battle; I am merely saying you don't have to live at the Shinwako mansion anymore unless you want to. I will tell you this truth, Akemliek is not your enemy to fight, he is for the Ronin to defeat."

* * *

Amara's eyebrows shot up, and she demanded in slight anger, "What? The Elders said…"

"Uranus please," the Neo-Scout held up her hand asking for silence, she had known she'd set off the Senshi's warrior pride with the statement. "I mean nothing ill, by it; I am not questioning your abilities or strengths. The Elders are only telling you what they know and remember, that doesn't mean it's the truth."

"Why do I have this nagging suspicion, you're about to drop a bomb on us?" Hotaru was eyeing the woman with a cautious look.

"Because I am. Akemliek was originally considered to be a villain for the Senshi to handle; as he came to this galaxy from another. Outside threats were the Senshi's job, inside ones were for the Ronin…It has always been that way," Neo-Universe paused again, stroking her chin in thought looking for a way to continue. "The past two lifetimes, the main ones that is, the Ronins merely offered you assistance, when they could, leaving Akemliek's fate to you. However, the powers of the planets were not enough to destroy him."

"After you were slain the Ronins continued the fight, and were able to hold their own against him for far longer," she murmured softly, "If it weren't for their lack of unity as a group, they would have won."

"I was unaware of this," Trista was frowning deeply, "I do not remember the fact that he was solely ours to fight."

"That's what those of the Great Council who were corrupt wanted. They were the ones who feared having the powers of the planets, seasons, and elements gifted to people. They believed the power would make the people corrupt, and the world would be destroyed. They wanted you dead, and by erasing your memory of Akemliek being your task to handle they knew you would never win."

"How so?" Michelle's brows were furrowed in confusion.

Neo-Universe offered the woman a wry grin, "After you learn that Akemliek was from outside this galaxy, you Senshi would tell the Ronins that he was yours to fight based on the rules you were told to follow. They would concede, rather begrudgingly mind you, and let you take up point, because of what Kaos told them their task was. In the end you all would end up failing again, and thus lose the last chance the universe has of being rid of Akemliek."

"The reason the Ronins can destroy Akemliek is because their powers are tied into human nature, then?" Hotaru inquired of the elder Scout.

"Yes that's right," she seemed rather pleased that the Senshi of Saturn had figured it out. "The Senshi's powers are tied to that of the galaxy; while the Ronin Elementals and Seasonals are tied into this planet. Their virtues are based on the human spirit, and thus Akemliek's greatest weakness: unity. The unity of one's self, and the unity of a group…He can't win against that."

"So, I find myself repeating the earlier asked questions," Amara commented with a frown, "Why do we need to be involved at all if it's their fight?"

"The Ronins are not used to fighting such long-drawn out battles, and you all are," the Sailor Senshi commented, "I sealed Akemliek, yes. The reason Kali and Thanos have been draining the armor of the Ronin Elementals is because I used most of that energy to cage him. You know my powers are tied into yours, that I cannot use them to their full extent unless you all work together without quarrel. So with each and every one of you dead, I was able to access them fully. The Ronins armor merely was the brunt of that power."

"And they need the same energy that locked Akemliek up in order to release him," Lindsay brought in, realization dawning on her now. "They've already taken our energy from any attacks that might have missed Kali. And since the armors made themselves the focal point of the seal, they had to be drained completely!"

"Mhm. Once the seal is broken, Akemliek will be free of the other dimension. However, he cannot leave his domain until 30th Century Crystal Tokyo…There's some sort of talismanic shield keeping him there, and it has only recently vanished in the 30th Century. I think it might have been something Inferno did, before I pushed time forward so this lifetime would begin."

"It really will be a long-drawn out battle," Michelle mumbled, saying louder, "And I assume, that having us meet now means we will be greater allies when the 30th century comes. The Ronins are going to need our support in order to get through the waiting period."

"Ah," Neo-Universe said with a nod, "I will not lie; this lifetime has happened before but each time the Future has been in jeopardy. By having you become allies once more, and just letting the Ronins take point in this battle should be enough to save the universe. However, it all depends on how the next few months play out whether the Future will be saved. I requested that Neo-Queen Serenity send Small Lady and her guardian here because the Future's fate was so uncertain."

"That I was aware of," Trista spoke up now, having remained silent knowing most of the information the Neo-Scout was telling the others. "But, when will you allow her to return?"

"Small Lady is already aware of when she can come back, but I shall tell you so you know. Not until Kali and Thanos have been both destroyed in this time," the Scout turned her head to look at the Time Guardian, "After that, the Future's fate will be set in stone and unchangeable. A moment before, and we could very well lose. I will not risk the Princess's life."

"I only have one more question, why did you involve Elayne?" the Senshi of Saturn was staring down the older Scout, knowing she was the cause behind that…Not the Cimmerian crystal.

"I had little choice in the matter," the Scout of the Universe commented, "There was no way to get all of you to meet at once without using someone as a link. I made it so that the elders would choose her to fill the gap; Elayne has helped to lessen the threat to your Future considerably. Only because she knew each of you, and was the reason you met the Ronins when you did…A thing as simple as that has helped the future."

The five Senshi remained silent at this; they were able to understand the Scout's reasons. After all, they had been willing to sacrifice certain people in the past in order to save the world as a whole.

"Don't worry so much," Neo-Universe smiled, "I had her permission to do it; sort of. I'm afraid I can tell you no more than that my friends. Please, let the Inner Senshi know of what I have told you. Only tell them, that you had a visitor from the Future who could tell you the information; I need my name left out of this."

"As always, eh Uni?" the Senshi of Uranus smirked at the woman.

The old warrior laughed softly, "Yes, quite right. Do not worry about the Ronin, I have already spoken with the Lady Kayura and she will tell them. I wish you all the best of luck; take care, I'll be seeing you soon."

She winked, and then in an instant she was gone from their sight…Perhaps back to the time she had come from.

Amara was still smirking, "Ha! I'm right, she _is_ alive."

"Gloater," the Warrior of Saturn grumbled out; violet-eyes turning to the sky as she mused over what they had been told. Well, at least they knew now what was occurring, why all these strange things were happening…And in an odd way, it all made sense.

* * *


	33. Chapter 32: Planning for the Future

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

"**Planning for the Future"**

* * *

Like Kayura had told the Ronins the day they defeated Talpa, she and the Warlords were from the past and better suited for the Nether Realm. At the time they had so much work to do; so many things to fix, and borders to secure from rivaling demon Warlords who might try and take over.

For the first two years after Talpa's fall, they had been so busy that time had sped by in a blur. But once things had started to settle down in their home, and life took on a somewhat normal routine, curiosity about the human realm had gotten the better of them.

Thus began the many trips back and forth between the two realms; Kayura had been willing to permit such travel so long as none of them went alone, and they promised not to bother the Ronins.

They had been able to find smaller gates, and many were outside of populated areas, allowing them to travel rather inconspicuously. When they wanted to be in the populated areas, they merely teleported…That was perhaps the only skill each of them would've bothered to thank Talpa for, they probably never would have learned how to manipulate that energy on their own.

The first few trips to the human world, on their 'free time' as Dais liked to term it, had been largely disasters. However one thing about it, they might have been over four centuries old, but they were quick to adjust. Granted, there were still a few things the Seasonals were behind on, but for the most part they were up-to-date. Whatever they were behind on, Elayne had promised she'd teach them about…Something she had offered up, maybe a month or two after meeting them all.

Now the four Seasonal armor bearers and the Lady Ancient were sitting at a small restaurant for lunch; they occupied one of the tables that rested outside. While serving authentic Japanese cuisine, the place was rather foreign in looks in order to attract tourists and offer them a 'comfort' of home.

The five had vacated the house not more than an hour before, for some fresh air and to put distance between them and the other warriors.

To their credit, the Seasonals had adjusted quite well to living at the mansion within the first few weeks of being there. They were rather easy to get along with, and didn't cause trouble…The noted exception being they had this habit of mercilessly teasing their rivals, not often just every once in a while.

If the Ronin Warriors were still holding grudges against them, the five young men were doing an amazing job of hiding it. There didn't seem to be anything bitter or angry in their demeanor, but the Seasonals were continuing to be cautious.

There was still the small possibility that something could happen to set-off one of the Ronin, and while that possibility continued to exist the Seasonals would continue to be wary. A little caution was better than none, after all.

Every now and then, like today, they just needed to get out of there and be by themselves for a bit. They would then all wind up at this little restaurant, eat and drink, and then head back.

Kayura absentmindedly twirled the straw in her drink, with a single finger; her chin rested on her other hand. Her blue-bangs fluttered in the soft breeze that passed, but she took no notice of it. Her face was set in deep concentration and thought, as her mind poured over the subjects within her grasp.

Sekhmet had spent the past ten minutes scanning the crowd, waiting for the other in their party to arrive. He finally gave up, and turned his gaze back to his companions, immediately seeing the look Kayura wore.

"What troubles you?" he furrowed his green-eyebrows at her.

The Lady Ancient slightly jumped having been jarred from her thoughts; she wrinkled her nose as she thought of a response. Before replying in a hesitant tone, "Nothing really, I was merely reflecting on the information delivered to us."

"Ah," the Seasonal of Summer brought in, "That has been on my mind as well. At least most of what is occurring makes sense now, and the Ronin are out of danger."

Cale had been in the process of devouring the sushi he had ordered, he held his chopsticks in pause, "Not all of them. The issue still remains that they've yet to go after Wildfire. I get the distinct feeling they will try worse with him, since their attempt on the other four failed."

Silence quickly fell over the small table, and Anubis put down the newspaper he had been reading…There was much merit in Cale's words. The enemy would have to go for Ryo sooner or later, and when they did it was certain they would do much worse to him than they had done to the others; just to rectify the mistakes of their previous plans. It was only a matter of time before that strike would come.

* * *

"Hey all," a cheerful voice broke into their grim thoughts. Seeing the looks each of them possessed, the person inquired, "Uh-oh, who died?"

Anubis offered the girl a kind smile, "No one as of yet."

"That's a relief," Elayne commented sliding into the vacant seat in-between Sekhmet and Cale.

"An," the green-haired bearer of Autumn beamed, happy that she had finally shown up. "What kept you?" The girl reminded him very much of his little sister, and he had taken an instant liking to her because of that. He also enjoyed her sense of humor, and general out-look on life…It made her easy to get along with.

"Sorry Sekky," she apologized, making a face and adding, "We're understaffed." She turned her attention to the waiter who had come over upon seeing her arrive, and proceeded to rattle off what she wanted.

Dais waited for the man to depart before inquiring with a raised eyebrow, "Aren't you normally?"

"Not like this," she said turning to look at him as she spoke. She was slightly taken by surprise to see his two ice-blue eyes staring at her, and frowned pointing to her own eye, "Do you _really_ have to do that?"

"I get strange looks, if I don't," Summer's bearer explained, immediately knowing what she was referring to. When he went out in public, Dais cast an illusion so that it looked like he had both of his eyes to avoid getting stared at…He didn't much like the passersby gawking at him.

"Well, I like you with the eye patch," Elayne told him definitively, "Makes you look sexy."

Dais laughed low in his throat, shaking his head in amusement, "Thank-you for the compliment."

"No problem. It's well earned," she quipped, before letting out a low moan and dropping her head to the table in exhaustion.

"Someone's tired," Cale sniggered out at her display.

"I'm beginning to wish I was still on medical leave," the girl grumbled, "I'd rather be at the mansion and deal with my paranoid over-protective oniichans."

Anubis gave a thoughtful frown to this, "Can they not transfer people in from other hospitals, until the others come back from sick leave?"

"They have, but it's still not enough," Elayne picked her head back up, leaning back into her chair; "They transferred in a few nurses and one doctor from a facility that was overstaffed. You'll never be able to guess what facility they're from, though."

"How many Red Cross Hospitals are in Japan?" Kayura inquired brows knit together as she was unable to remember the number…She had hoped by having those numbers, she could figure out the answer.

"Ninety-two hospitals, and there are seventy-nine blood centers," the girl answered, giving a nod of thanks to the waiter who placed her food before her.

"I'm willing to give up right now," Sekhmet commented at hearing the figures, "Where are they from?"

Elayne was grinning impishly, "Sendai."

"Oh dear," Kayura let out a small laugh, "Am I to take it the doctor they sent you is Sage's elder sister?"

"How did you ever guess?" she asked in a too-sweet tone, before making another face and groaning out, "I can't believe they had to send her. I like Yayoi, but she was a total terror when I was little. She picked on poor Nii-chan so badly, and that made me dislike her a tiny bit. She grew up a lot though, so she's not as merciless as she was. However, according to my co-workers she's near impossible to work with."

Cale tilted his head the corners of his lips twitching upward in a grin, "How merciless is she now?"

"Mm," Elayne put a finger to her chin as she thought it over, quickly coming up with a scenario. "Instead of just showing up to harass Sage like normal, she'll call him and say she's coming and then show up five minutes later. I'm kinda surprised she hasn't done it yet."

Anubis chuckled deep in his throat, "Then I suspect we might have to keep our guard up. In case she does make an impromptu visit."

"Sounds like a good idea," she commented, before digging into the food she had ordered. "One Date is manageable, two is tough, all three siblings equal something akin to a nightmare. Cale would _never _be the same."

* * *

Dais snorted down a laugh, watching as she scoffed down her meal, "You eat like Hardrock."

"Well excuse me," the girl commented, "I haven't eaten since yesterday, and I like to eat, so nyah. Oh, and what's with the formal titles? I thought you guys were stopping with that."

"Old habits," Sekhmet gave a loose shrug of his shoulders as if that explained everything. When they were talking to the Ronins they called them by their first names, when talking about them they went back to using their armor titles. It wasn't something they put a lot of thought into, it just sort of happened.

"Minna," she placed down the chop sticks she'd been using, and eyed them with a frown on her face, "What's wrong? You're all very preoccupied today, did something happen?"

"Nothing happened," Kayura assured her, "I told you about the message and information we received from a Future source didn't I?"

The girl gave a nod to the affirmative; Cale then said, "We were merely going over the information again. It's a lot to take account of."

"I see," she murmured in a soft tone, hand fiddling with the jewel around her neck. She looked around for a moment, seeing that they were basically the only ones left at the place this time of day, she then continued, "Then I take it Kali hasn't shown up yet. What are they waiting for? Do they honestly expect your guards' to drop?"

"Perhaps they are," Sekhmet remarked, "But we cannot say for certain. You shouldn't worry; no harm will come to Wildfire."

"That's a lie and you all know it," Elayne's tone sharpened, and her eyes narrowed, "Don't try and cushion me from a blow, I don't need to be protected like that. How is Ryo doing anyway?"

"Not very well," the Lady Ancient confessed, "The virtues put such a strain on his system that his body is still dealing with the repercussions. He's displaying flu-like symptoms, and the others are blaming his state on that. They aren't aware of what we are, and I have no plans of telling them the real issue."

"It's been five days, since the Driento lost their hold on the other four," the girl was frowning as she thought aloud, "Yet, Ryo's still suffering from it…It doesn't make sense. Unless," Her eyes widened in realization, "The virtues weren't the only thing relying on him."

"Elayne," Anubis regarded her with a somewhat passive look, "What do you mean?"

"The virtues were relying on the only one they could without completely abandoning their bearers. But, if the armors were as badly drained as you all claim, then wouldn't they be relying on the Wildfire armor to get by? If they are still connected to it, because of Inferno don't you think they'd depend on Wildfire until most of their own power returned?"

"It's very possible," Cale commented, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "From what we know of these armors, they could very well do that. It'd explain why Ryo has not recovered. A drain on the armor would also affect him."

"Ah," Dais gave a nod, saying, "His body was under twice the amount of strain. So it will take twice as long for him to recover."

"Makes sense to me," the Seasonal of Fall stated, eyeing her with a frown, "An-chan, what is it? You don't look happy about that, have you gotten some sort of warning?"

Elayne rubbed at her forehead, murmuring out, "It's nothing clear or definite, not as of yet at least. But something horrible is soon to happen, I know that much…"

"If it concerns Wildfire," the Spring Seasonal interrupted, "Should you not be telling the Ronins instead of us?"

"They aren't aware of my abilities," the girl folded her hands and put them in her lap, "The Senshi know some of what I can do, just because I've lent them a small hand in the past. Sage is aware of the fact I can contact those in the spirit realm, as well as sense auras and a person's general mood. The guys know I can contact them mentally, and sort of read minds if I concentrate hard enough…But that's all the crystal's doing. The only thing I have naturally is that connection to the spirit realm, since my grandmother was a shaman."

"So, they are all unaware of the fact you see things?" Cale raised one blue-eyebrow at her.

"No, the Senshi know that I sometimes catch things I shouldn't," she let out a sigh, "The guys don't…Well, Ryo knows. But I never felt the need to tell the other four, just because having them know wouldn't have changed anything."

"I understand that," Kayura commented, adding, "But I stand by what I said before, you should tell them eventually."

Elayne offered a small smile, "I will, just not right now…It isn't that important they find out I'm a total and complete freak, instead of just a freak."

They all fell silent as the waiter came and deposited their bill, which Dais was quick to snatch up before any of the others.

"No arguments, it's my turn to pay," Summer's bearer said before the protests could begin.

Sekhmet snorted out a laugh, "Suit yourself." His black-eyes went back to the girl and seeing that she was still rather dour, he decided the matter was not over yet. "Now, that the outsider is gone, are you going to say what's bothering you?"

"Oh, why do you have to be so persistent?" Elayne complained to him, shaking her head when he proceeded to beam at the praise. "You all said it yourself, Ryo's extremely weak right now. The enemy isn't going to give him the time to recover from this, and when they do strike they will make sure it's worse than the previous ones."

"That's what you're worried about?" Anubis inquired.

Elayne shook her head, "It's not just that. Don't you get it? If Ryo were to be attacked in his current condition…" She stopped as a hand was placed on her shoulder, her breath catching in her throat…How long had they been listening?

* * *

"He'll very likely die," Rowen finished in a calm-tone; his face had a grim-look to it.

The girl turned her head to look at him, and caught sight of someone else; "Rowen, Sage…"

The blond swordsman opened his eyes, and commented, "You'll have to forgive us for eavesdropping. However, you have been discussing something that's been weighing heavily on our minds."

"That is understandable," the Seasonal of Summer acknowledged; "I take it you've been listening for the entire time?"

"Close to it," the Ronin of Strata said, "We saw you here, and wouldn't have thought much of it except a few things slipped over the armor-link. Naturally, we were curious."

"So the armors have opened up all lines of communication between the bearers," Kayura mused to herself, "I had been told it may happen, but I didn't think it would be this soon."

She got a few odd looks as well as a scathing glare, courtesy of one Winter Seasonal, before saying to Rowen, "I was certain you would be pondering over this as well. So that merely leaves me with the question of what we are supposed to do."

The Strata Ronin could feel the girl stiffen, and gently squeezed her shoulder, saying in a soothing tone, "It'll be all right, An. We're going to do everything we can to prevent him from getting harmed."

"I know that Ro," she shook her head, he didn't understand either. She brushed his hand aside, and got to her feet, "You guys have always looked out for him, and I'm not disputing that…Or discrediting your strength. But you can't protect him every time and from everything."

Rowen frowned, working his jaw as he tried to think of something to respond to that with. The problem was, she was very right in what she said and that made it twice as hard to allay any fears she might have.

"I have to get back to work," she said cutting off any reply one of the others might have. She turned to the Seasonals and bowed, "Thanks minna. I'll see you later on in the week?"

"Of course," the Fall Seasonal smiled again, "It's going to take a lot to get rid of us."

She gave a soft laugh, turning to the two Ronin, saying, "Take it easy, you two…Tell the others to do the same. I don't want one of the Senshi calling me up complaining because one of you managed to break a bone or something."

"All right," the Strata Ronin gave a nervous chuckle.

Elayne started to walk away, but paused when she neared Sage saying to him, "Oh yeah! Yayoi-nee-chan says hello, and that you should stop by and see her if you're not too busy." She handed him a card with the information, "I would if I were you, because otherwise she'll show up at the mansion. You'll _never _be able to live that down."

"Yeah, you have a point," Sage mumbled taking the card, and stuffing it into his pocket, "Stay out of trouble, imouto. If you need anything…"

"Call, I know, I know," She took a brief look at her watch, let out an 'eep' and tore off.

* * *

"She's an odd girl," Dais commented with a slight chuckle, getting to his feet and pushing his chair in.

The other four were quick to do the same, and then exchanged looks with one another before turning their gaze back to the Ronin of Halo and Strata.

"We are going to head back to the mansion," Anubis told them in a calm tone, "Would you care to join us?"

Sage merely gave a nod of his head in answer, vacating the spot he had held leaning against the building.

Rowen looked over his shoulder at his best friend, and then turned his attention back to the five people in front of him. "Ya, that's fine. We need to talk with you all, anyway."

"You have a strategy?" the Winter Seasonal inquired, as he started to walk.

"Sort of," the archer admitted, trying not to show surprise at the fact they had guessed his and Sages' intentions already.

The Ronin of Halo was quick to elaborate, "We have a few ideas, but would like to hear any you might have."

"You're willing to ask such information of your former enemies?" Sekhmet inquired his green eyebrows pricked into the makings of a frown.

Rowen offered a half-hearted grin, "If it'd help keep Ryo alive, I'd go ask Talpa."

The Lady Ancient snorted back a laugh, rolling her eyes, "Oh yeah, just because he was such a _great_ advice giver while he was alive."

"Well being dead might have helped," Cale brought in with a grin, jerking his thumb at Spring's bearer, "Just look what it did for Anubis."

A loud round of laughter escaped them all, and for a few moments their burdens seemed all that much lighter…Before weighing down on them once more. The seven of them spent the remainder of the walk home in deep discussion, and by the time they arrived at their destination had a plan in place.

All that remained to be seen was whether or not it would work.


	34. Chapter 33 The Trap is Sprung

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

"**The Trap is Sprung"**

**Two days later**

* * *

Rain; how simple and clean it was. It bathed the hurting world, offering the planet some small comfort from its current grief. The loss of its warriors stung greatly, and now as the planet mourned, the skies did as well.

Not only did the rain try to offer comfort to the planet but also to the remaining warrior. It tried vainly to offer him some solace from his current pain, as well as strength to continue this fight.

The Leader of the Samurai Troopers was pushing his already torn body, far past its normal limit…And at this point in time, he no longer cared. He continued to lock swords with Akemliek, neither gaining the upper hand for longer than a few sparse moments.

But as they fought, one could clearly see that they were not alone…The only viewer to this battle, stood out against this surreal setting. She watched it all with a morbid fascination, as well as a good deal of apprehension.

"Not again," Elayne whispered to herself. This was one of the memories the crystal, as of late, had decided she needed to see on a constant basis…And out of all the memories she had seen thus far, she hated this one the _most_.

"I get the fact they died," she growled at the crystal, "Why do you insist on showing me this? What are you trying to tell me?"

She knew she would get no answer…While in no way an inanimate object, the Cimmerian crystal did not seem to be capable of verbal communication. Or, if it was, it just did not feel the need to be bothered to make that fact known.

The girl quickly screwed her eyes shut as Akemliek prepared to run the Trooper through…It didn't matter how many times she had seen this, each time she watched them die she cringed. Feeling as though it were her fault this had happened, somehow, someway, she felt responsible.

When Elayne felt brave enough to open her eyes again, shock quickly over took her…The setting had changed, and so had the occupants. Instead of Akemliek, there was an ice demon, and on the ground lay Ryo…As he was today.

* * *

Elayne bolted into a sitting position, quickly jarring herself from sleep…If you could term _that_ sleep. The jewel around her neck hummed, and was warm to the touch.

"A warning," she whispered breathlessly, trying to calm down, so she could think clearly.

She ran a hand through her hair, finding a good deal of it was loose from the tight bun she had placed it in. She grumbled under her breath, and quickly took it out, before putting it back up.

Elayne scrutinized her surroundings trying to recall where she was…At work, of course, in the staff lounge. She had told one of her co-workers that she felt light-headed and gone to take a fifteen-minute nap. She had asked the woman to come and get her, that way she would not get in trouble.

The girl shot a glance to the wall-clock, eyes widening…According to it an hour had passed. Why hadn't anyone come to get her? She quickly smoothed out her clothes, and headed for the door, coming to a stop when it opened before she could lay a hand on the door knob. Elayne took a step back to allow the person to enter.

The woman who entered had sharp almond brown-eyes, soft black hair pulled back neatly. Her work clothes were neatly pressed, and she held a certain air of confidence about herself…She was a person who was worth the respect she earned.

She offered a small smile to the girl, saying, "You woke up without being prodded. I was so hoping to get the chance to poke you into wakefulness."

"Yayoi-nee-chan," Elayne slightly frowned at the eldest of the Date children, "Why didn't anyone come get me sooner?"

"Ah," the woman smiled wider, "It was not from lack of trying, I assure you. The person you asked to wake you noticed you had a high temperature." She stepped forward a moment, and placed a hand to the girl's forehead, "And still do, might I add."

Yayoi cleared her throat, "In any case, I finished with the patients I had and went to talk to Miyamoto to discuss your situation. He wants you to go home for at least four days if not five. He seemed convinced that you have no yet recovered?" She raised a fine-eyebrow at this, waiting for an explanation.

"Un," the girl nodded, "I was having unexplainable black-out spells a few weeks ago. They went away, so I didn't think I should worry you for nothing. That is why I failed to tell you."

The woman offered what could be termed a pout, "Well, you should have told me regardless. I like having someone to worry over; you're one of my little sisters too since Seiji saw fit to adopt you."

Elayne most likely would have laughed at that, but once more she was frowning. She'd been dealing with the fever for the past two days, at least…But now all of a sudden Miyamoto wanted her to go home?

The girl eyed the crystal around her neck with some suspicion…She would not put it past the jewel to start doing things like that. After all, it saw fit to shove her into this lifetime; there was no limit on what it would not do.

_'Why are you doing this?'_ Elayne had asked the question many times within the past several months, only to get no answer.

The image she'd received in her sleep suddenly flashed before her eyes, and she thought she heard a voice whisper, _'To protect.'_

Yayoi merely figured the girl was thinking over the proposition of having to return to her place of residence…And thus remained quiet, until Elayne spoke.

"I'll go home," Elayne murmured, her gut twisting in anxiousness.

She hastily walked over to the table, tearing out a sheet of notebook paper from the binder, and picking up a pen. She quickly wrote down several items, looked to Yayoi and said, "But, I need you to do me a favor. Get what's on this list; tell Miyamoto-san that it's for one of my 'home patients.' Tell him to take the money out of my check to pay for it all."

Yayoi took the list, and her eyebrows went up as she read it over, "I realize my brother is staying with you. I also assumed," she stepped into the room completely and shut the door behind her, "That the other Troopers were as well. Grandfather had sensed back in September that something was amiss."

"That's because there is," Elayne shrugged on her jacket, "The ancient enemy is now making his move. The guys have been at the mansion, mainly because the enemy is only interested in them. They have feared that by living near others, including their families, they will put those people at risk."

"I can understand that, but not to tell us the nature of the situation, when our family, the Mouri and Faun families, know of the armors, is rather an insult," Yayoi commented.

"No it isn't, they're trying to protect all they love and care about. They're trying not to worry you all with a matter that is out of your leagues," Elayne started to button her jacket; "I can't blame them for trying to keep you all safe. Look Yayoi, please just get these things for me? We can talk about all this later; you can come to the house and drop the stuff off. That way you can get your chance to harass Seiji-nii-chan, you've only been dying to do that ever since you got here."

"Good point," Yayoi admitted, "All right, see you in a few then. I get off of work in another hour or so."

"Thanks nee-chan!" Elayne happily chirped, quickly opening the door and shooting out of the room.

Yayoi looked over the list, and let out a soft swear, before ducking her head out into the hall and bellowing, "You neglected to mention what type!"

Elayne skidded to a halt as she reached the end of the hall, "O!" And with that she vanished around the corner.

"Why am I stuck with such weird siblings?" Yayoi inquired aloud and then smiled, as she answered her own question, "Because normal ones would be boring."

* * *

For the first time in months, the Shinwako mansion would be rather silent. The Inner Senshi would be gone for around two to three days, having been called away by family…For what specific reasons; well that was anyone's guess. The Outer Senshi had left the day prior.

Michelle had been invited to play in a concert back in August and it was an engagement she could not get out of (even if she wanted too). Naturally, Amara went wherever the Sailor of Neptune went…And Trista had decided that she and Hotaru would go as well.

The four of them would most likely not return until the weekend; deprived of her teammates Lindsay had walked in a huff back to the Estate. Needless to say, no one was all that sad to see her go. The Ronins and Seasonals could most certainly do without the most annoying being since the 'Mary Sue' was termed back in ninety-seventy-four.

The Elemental Senshi remained at the mansion, largely because they had no need to return to the Estate. To be quite honest the four women were staying, so Kayura wouldn't be the only woman in the house.

Oh they were well aware that the Lady Ancient could take care of herself, but someone needed to protect the Ronins from her; after they pushed a wrong button. The last thing the four Americans wanted was to come back and find the men mortally wounded…No matter how much they might have earned it.

As the last Inner Senshi disappeared from view, the house itself seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Though, perhaps they were just imagining that part…Then again, maybe they weren't.

Each of the house's remaining occupants were edgy, with the noticeable absence of the Sailor Senshi, there was a very real possibility that the enemy would make a move.

The warriors were as prepared as they could get, but they were still worried…Even with formulating a number of plans in the hopes to keep Wildfire safe, a lot could go wrong.

There was no telling what Kali might have up her sleeve, all they knew was when she did strike…It would be as devastating a blow as she could possibly deliver.

Sure enough, the minute night overtook the sky…The enemy made their move. Though the Raikken couldn't get inside the barrier, there was one outside of it keeping a tab on the warriors.

Thus, when the last of the Senshi had departed, the Raikken had promptly notified Kali and the ice demonness then put her plan into action.

Coaxing the remaining warriors out into a fight had been all too easy, mainly since they had the ability to sense where negative energy was. Splitting up so few of them would not be that much of a problem either, as Thanos was currently putting out a false signal in addition to the real one.

This meant there were two locations that needed to be covered, which meant there would be a group of seven warriors going to each spot. Kali did not like them being in such big groups, so the Raikken and her favorite mist spell would see to make the groups even smaller.

Divide and conquer, one of her favorite games of all times…She was rather a professional at it now. Kali rocked back onto her heels, waiting for the time to put the plan into full effect. She and Thanos had gone over it so many times; it was burned into their minds now.

The Seasonals and remaining Senshi would receive the heaviest end of the fighting, that would keep them pre-occupied just long enough for her to do get things done. This was going to be a piece of cake, and she didn't care about the mystery fighter…Even though she was _sure _it was Universe.

With the warriors being split up, and with each of them being close to fatal danger there was no way that fool could get to their real target in time. If she did, Kali would be extremely impressed and would be more than willing to revise her opinion of the woman.

Kali smiled, white-teeth shining in the dim-light, "Come along and play, little fools. But no matter what you try, you will not win."

* * *

There was something wrong here. Blame it on whatever you wanted to, this battle just did not feel right to him at all. As his midnight-blue eyes continued to scan the fight going on around him a frown settled onto his face.

His brain was analyzing and scrutinizing every aspect of this battle, but no matter how many different ways he tried to look at it the conclusion coming back remained the same. This was _wrong._

The Strata armor also seemed unhappy with something, as he could feel its disgruntlement all-too clearly…And that bothered him a little. Rowen had been able to do many things with the armor in the past, but never before had he been able to feel so much from it.

Little things he could blame on something else, sure…But to be able to know that Strata was anxious and aggravated like this, never had he thought it possible.

_'I don't like this,' _Rowen shared his discontent with the others, firing off a few arrows before coming to a halt.

Cye used his yari to cut through another Raikken, hearing the note to his friend's voice he inquired, _'What's the matter, Rowen?'_

_'This is too easy,' _Kento brought in quickly, _'Is that what's bugging you, Ro?'_

_'Yes,' _the archer quickly answered, adding_, 'I think we have been set up.'_

Sage let out a light grunt, having gotten side-swiped by a kusari-gama, _'Then we'll have to keep our guard up.'_

The Ronin of Halo was a bit back from the others, fighting next to his leader. The blonde swordsman was not willing to let Wildfire's bearer out of his sight if he could help it. The fear that something would happen to Ryo, was something the four were quite used to having…However, the rules were slightly different for this game.

Whereas any other enemy they had faced wanted power, the control of the world, a fight, or their armors…This one wanted nothing more for them to die, and that was enough to make the Ronin Warriors twice as cautious as they normally were.

Ryo was not in any position to complain about the added help, his fever had only broken some three hours before. His body was weak from exhaustion, and he knew full well he would be sluggish. The Wildfire Ronin silently prayed he wouldn't have to use his attack that night.

"You holding up all right?" Sage asked as the Raikken around them thinned somewhat.

Ryo gave a slight nod, and a shaky breath, "As well as could be expected. But nowhere near as much as I would like."

The swordsman gave a chuckle to this in response, eyes narrowing as he growled out, "Second wave's coming in."

"What is it with them tonight?" Aarde was frowning at what Halo's bearer had said, "They never send this many after us, when the other Senshi are present."

"They're going to make a move," Glacia muttered out, "That's the only reason for this."

All further comments were lost as more Raikken poured out into the clearing, thus beginning phase two of Kali's plan.

* * *

Thanos blew a stray strand of his hair from his eyes; he waited in the comfort of a tree as the plan slowly started to unfold. So far everything was running the way they wanted it too, but there was still room for upsets.

Luckily for him, he was blessed with an infinite amount of patience, unlike his hot-tempered _do-it-now _sister. Kali reminded him more of a human's six-year-old child than almost a thousand-year-old ice demonness.

_'Since this was her plan,'_ the smallest trace of a smirk played his lips, _'One can only hope, she'll be patient enough to see it through.'_

On an impulse he withdrew the enchanted dagger from where he had hidden it, glancing at the ancient object with slight fascination. The black-hilt hilt was intricately carved, and the blade was a liquid-silver…It was no ordinary human weapon; it was something crafted by demons and therefore worked well with dark magic.

The spell on the blade was complete, and all in all Thanos knew the weapon would strike true…It would serve him extremely well this night, that he was sure of.

Suddenly, a low note reached his keen ears, and the slight smirk became a full one. The Raikken had managed to separate the warriors into small groups; phase two of the plan had been completed. It was only a matter of time now.

* * *

"This is not good!" Empyrean hollered above the commotion surrounding her. She had lost sight of the Ronin a mere five minutes before…Now with every muscle in her body tense and only sight of one of her fellow Senshi she was pretty close to panicking.

What Empyrean's elemental partner had sensed before was vibrating through her own senses right now. The Senshi of Air was more than just unnerved by it…This was really bad.

"Calm down," Aarde commented taking out the remaining Raikken, "Let's worry about getting to Nova and Glacia. We can't do anything for our Elemental Equals; we're just going to have to leave it up to their abilities."

"I guess so…" The Senshi responded hesitantly, catching something out of the corner of her eye, "Cale?"

The bearer of Winter finished hacking through a Raikken, before sheathing his blade. He gave a nod in acknowledgement to the two women, "We were separated on purpose. Strata's fear was a real one."

"So it would appear," the Sailor of Earth murmured, closing her eyes, "Come on, Nova's this way…Two others are with her…Think it might be Anubis and Sekhmet."

Not even five minutes later, Dais and Kayura plus one Sailor Glacia stumbled across them…Kali sighed heavily through her nose the Raikken were not doing that good of a job keeping the other warriors separated. Oh well, at least they were keeping them busy…If you can't get exactly what you want, be willing to settle for less.

"Ah," Kali's normal mischievous smile emerged as she heard an off-note, "That's my cue." She vanished from her hiding spot, reappearing where the Ronin Warriors were currently fighting.

* * *

The Ronin of Hardrock was not a happy camper, upon noticing that after they had lost sight of the others the Raikken had let up a good deal.

"Why do I have this gut feeling," He grounded out, a scowl on his face, "That Icy is going to show up?"

Sage warily scanned his surroundings; he was unwilling to trust his other senses at this point. The young man had come to the conclusion that some of the negative energy being emitted was most likely false; therefore, his other senses were useless here.

The Wildfire Ronin's eyes hardened and narrowed as he gritted out, "Maybe because she _is_ here."

Kali let out a low chuckle, as she walked out of the darkness; a hand rested on her hip, and a smug expression was plastered on her face.

"Hello Ronins," she said rather cheerfully, "I think I ought to commend you; no one has ever managed to survive my little spell before. Don't worry though; I won't be underestimating you again."

The five young men tightened the hold on their weapons, more than prepared to make a move the minute she gave them an opening. They didn't need to be able to communicate telepathically to know that they were thinking the same thing…It was time for some overdue payback.

Rowen waited for his signal, and once he had it he hastily notched off an arrow…Kali managed to evade it though she backed into Sage's blade, the only thing keeping her from getting cut through was the armor she wore.

The attack from Halo merely jostled her forward, but before the Ronins of Torrent or Hardrock could do anything, she leapt straight into the air and performed a back-flip.

She landed by a slightly surprised Sage, and a wicked grin traced her lips as she drove her sword into his back, as if she were returning the favor for what he had just done.

Kali was quick to spin around blocking Ryo's move, and easily pushing the strained warrior back with minimal effort. If possible her vile grin widened, _'Oh no Wildfire, we've other plans for you.'_

As she and the Ronins continued to exchange blows, the area darkened and the mist that she always called upon started to thicken. She noticed as the battle continued how worn out Wildfire's bearer really was, and smirked to herself. _Now!_

She broke away from the five young men, landing on the opposite end of the clearing. She watched in satisfaction as their eyes widened in realization at what she was doing. Kali cackled, "What's wrong, don't like fog?"

"Demon!" Rowen barked out in aggravation, "You are just delaying the inevitable!"

"Maybe," she laughed and disappeared into the shroud.

Sage's body suddenly tensed, and he whirled around his sword clashing with that of a Raikken's, "Looks like the cowardess, also sent for back up!"

A few moments later the Ronin could no longer see one another, and nor could they spend time dwelling on it, as the Raikken were currently giving them an extremely rough way to go. The method they usually relied on to find each other, they found themselves unable to use as the fog was distorting the ability. If they had been able to use it, they might've realized that Ryo had been separated from them.

* * *

The Ronin of Wildfire paused to catch his breath yet again; sweat, had long ago begun to pour from his brow and he had barely done anything! He had not used his attack in over a week, and yet his body felt like it had after he had defeated Talpa (the first and last time).

Ryo scowled to himself when the mist lifted allowing him to see that he was no longer where he had been…And that in addition to that he was completely surrounded. Great, just what he needed right now.

"That's just perfect," the Ronin Leader growled to himself, "Leave it to me to get separated from the others when I'm actually in need of back-up."

_'There's no way I can risk using Wildfire's power now,' _Ryo tightened the hold on his katanas, _'It has to be done as a last resort.'_

As the young man forced his body to continue fighting, the rain-laden clouds finally released their burden onto the world below. The scowl on Ryo's face deepened at this, not only was he fighting when his body clearly needed rest…Now it was raining, making the ground slippery. Fate and Luck really did _not _like him all that much, did they?

Ryo gritted his teeth together for the umpteenth time, as the minutes dragged on he was aware of just how badly he was falling. He had to end this skirmish with the Raikken, and now. They were getting stronger from his state, and he was getting weaker…Yeah, it was most definitely time to put an end to this.

He took a deep breath, and brought the blades together; quickly releasing the energy…He wasn't even able to call out the attack, before he collapsed to his knees his strength now completely spent. Luckily, the Raikken had all been incinerated with that small amount of power.

Ryo's breath came in and out at a rapid pace, and he had to take several gulps of air to try and replenish his depleted supply of oxygen. Slowly enough strength returned to his limbs, allowing him to get to his feet.

He began walking in the direction he thought the others might be, only to freeze in place a moment later. His eyes darted from shadow to shadow; looking for anything out of the ordinary…Wildfire's bearer could have sworn he heard something or seen someone moving.

Unable to sense or see anything, he resumed his walk…Though now he was keeping twice as alert as before, he wasn't going to take a chance and let his guard slip.

He let out a sigh murmuring aloud, "You guys _better_ be okay."

* * *

The Wildfire Ronin continued to walk onward, slightly concerned that he had not encountered anything as of yet. That was bothering him, why was the enemy holding back, what were they up to this time?

He slowed to a halt once more, ears having picked up the sound of his four friends' voices; the only problem was he could not be sure as to where exactly it had come from. A general idea would only get him so far.

This was it, Thanos had merely been waiting for the Ronin to be accurately distracted and pre-occupied with thought, before executing the last stage of the plan.

With the Ronin of Wildfire's back exposed to him, the ice demon merely tossed a dagger towards the unsuspecting warrior.

Ryo was quick to come out of his thoughts upon sensing movement behind him, he hastily spun around. His eyes widened in initial shock at first, before he narrowed them and jumped out of the projectile's path…Only to be caught in the stomach by the real hit.

Thanos managed to shove the enchanted dagger deep enough into the armor that it touched the undergear, and the demon effortlessly pulled it back out. He then slipped away back into the shadow, to bide his time. Technically, it only required one stab for the spell to take effect, but if they wanted it to work the way they needed it to…Well, Thanos was prepared to do that right now.

In the excursion, Ryo had been knocked of his feet, and now he struggled to stand…Once he had righted himself he watched in total alarm as the Wildfire armor faded to that of his subarmor.

He was quick to push the emotions aside though, as he scanned about for signs of his attacker. Ryo couldn't see anyone, and he couldn't sense them either…He was tired, and getting extremely irritated with this now.

"Who are you?" He demanded, fist clenching in anger, "Come out and show your face!"

An eerie chuckle caught his attention, and he watched as the person stepped out of the shadows, not at all surprised when he saw it was an ice demon…He had figured it was either Kali or her brother.

"I am Thanos," the ice demon gave a slight bow of his head, adding calmly, "Your executioner."

"I don't plan to go down easily," Vivid-blue eyes narrowed venomously, challenging the demon to take another step.

Once more Thanos let out a chuckle, though this one was deeper, more human-like, "I would hope not, Wildfire. There's no honor in an easy death. However, you will not last long…Your strength is spent."

Ryo scowled, but made no move to respond to the comment. The rain was coming down heavier now, and that would impede his ability to move swiftly. Landing on his foot wrong only slightly, would be all that it took to put Ryo in an exceedingly dangerous position. All of but fifteen minutes later, that moment came.

He was temporarily distracted when he heard the other four Ronin call out their surekills…Ryo hadn't even paused to listen for a minute, when Thanos took the opportunity to overpower him.

The demon once more rammed the dagger into his target, causing the subarmor to vanish completely. The dagger then pierced deep into the young man's flesh, eliciting a sharp intake of breath from Ryo as well as a shocked howl.

Thanos withdrew the tool, a smile framing his face as he knocked the Ronin of Wildfire to the ground with a swift punch to the jaw.

The Ronin Leader landed with a dull thud, drawing in a painful gasp of air, before clenching his teeth together. A sense of déjà vu washed over him, and he remembered that memory he had seen…This was how he had died the last time, though it had been at Akemliek's hands.

Ryo tried vainly to force his body back up once more before Thanos could finish him off. But he was far past his limit now, and his body could no longer cope…This was it, unless Fate decided to be kind to him, he was finished.

* * *

The four Ronin were trying their hardest to fight the Raikken, deal with Kali, and try and find each other all at once. Right now with as frustrated as they were, the four were more than willing to shoot who ever came up with the term 'multi-tasking.'

Rowen tried to focus harder on the armor link, but it was pretty much a lost cause at this point. He was annoyed at how Kali continued to toy with them. She'd fight one, and just when it looked like he had the upper hand she'd retreat to the shadows and pick someone else to mess with.

With it being so close to winter it made her stronger, that much they had already gathered…So even if they hit her with their surekills all at once, there was little chance it'd destroy her.

But they could wound her, and maybe well enough that she'd back off until they came up with some sort of fool-proof plan to get rid of her and Thanos. The main problem was he and the others needed to be able to see each other first.

That task was not proving to be an easy one; even Sage was having a hard time. So many things were going on it was making it impossible for the swordsman to concentrate. Plus, it was pouring now and rain always managed to distort things even further.

Cye was deep in thought, there had to be some way around all of this. Suddenly he had an idea, it was a little ridiculous but it might _actually_ work. At this point, it was the only thing he hadn't tried, "Marco!"

The Ronin of Hardrock did his best not to outright laugh, "You're such a smart-ass, Cye."

"I know," the Water Ronin smirked proudly, stepping into Kento's line of sight, "But, it worked didn't it?"

"Only you," the Warrior of Strata snorted as he joined them, having managed to locate them by their voices, "Would think of that."

Sage walked up behind Kento, saying in mirth, "Polo."

"Eh," the Hardrock Ronin turned his head to study the swordsman, "Did you have to walk up behind me?"

The bearer of Halo offered a slight shrug of his shoulders, "Not my fault your back was to me. You really shouldn't leave yourself open like that, Kento."

"Blondie," the Warrior of Strength warned, "I've got this extremely nice hair-clipper with your name on it. Keep it up, and you'll be the next Yul Brenner."

"Who?" There was a blank look on Rowen's face, and Sage was mirroring the look.

Kento shook his head, "Ask Kirstin, she owns just about every movie the guy was in. You'll get it then. OI! Kali where the heck are you, let's get this over with!"

"Impatient tonight aren't we, Hardrock?" Kali queried in mirth, "I'm impressed that you managed to find your way through this fog all by yourselves. Unlike the last time, hm? Needed the Elementals help there, didn't we?"

The Warrior of Light narrowed his eyes, holding no-dachi ready to strike the moment he located the ice demonness. He was unsure how close she was, just because her voice was being carried by the wind.

Kali was waiting, listening for the sound she needed to hear before she could continue with her fight. Once she heard the familiar sounds that accompanied Wildfire's attack, she quickly moved against the four to keep them distracted.

"What are you waiting for?" Cye hollered, bringing up his yari to block her sword strike. He gritted his teeth together seeing the vile smile that framed her features; she was up to something.

"Oh nothing," she smirked at the look of rage on his face, "I'm merely testing your limits again, is all."

Kento and Rowen exchanged quick glances with each other, before both nodding. By not engaging Kali as much as they should have, they had been able to predict her fighting pattern, somewhat. It had allowed them to determine what was most likely her weakest spot.

As Kali somersaulted away from Sage to engage the Warrior of Hardrock, she fell into the Strata Ronins' quickly calculated trap. Rowen had noticed that no matter what she did, she always left her right shoulder open to attack. Seeing this once more, he let an arrow fly…Silently whooping when it made contact.

Kali gave an annoyed hiss as she ripped the arrow out of her body, tossing it to the ground. She snarled at the warriors, hastily side-stepping Kento's bo but leaving herself completely off balance. That was when the four young men took the chance to throw their power at her, releasing their sure-kills without another thought.

As Rowen had suspected, Kali managed to avoid the brunt of the power…But she did get wounded enough, that she almost fell over right before she teleported out of their sight.

* * *

"I think we won that time," Kento remarked, putting his bo away. Noting that upon Kali's leaving, the thick mist had also dissipated.

Sage gave a slight nod, though he was semi pre-occupied trying to find their leader, having noticed his absence early on in the fight…He had just been too busy to do much about it.

The Ronin of Life and Intellect frowned slightly, "Ya, we might not be seeing her again for a while. Let's hope so anyway."

"Where is Ryo?" Cye demanded in irritation and worry…He suddenly winced, his left arm throbbing with an unknown pain. His guiding virtue began to flicker in and out on his forehead.

Cye was quick to snap his head to glance at the other three Ronin, taking no comfort in what he saw.

Kali had set a trap, and they had unknowingly taken the bait. Not a single word was spoken between them as they dashed out of the clearing; fearing that they were already too late.


	35. Chapter 34: A Healer's Touch

_A/n: Here is the start of your update; enjoy! Not too much longer before we reach the end of Book One._

_-LG_

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Four:**

"**A Healer's Touch"**

* * *

Pain filtered throughout her body, causing her breath to come out in a whoosh. Every muscle ached, and her head was throbbing to the point where it was unbearable.

There was no reason for this; no possible explanation for what doctors had termed a 'fit.' Oh yeah, wonderful with all their medical terminology the best they could come up with was a fit? That was oh so comforting, extremely comforting.

"What's going on?" She whispered in confusion and fear.

The last time she had experienced one of these episodes, had been a very long time ago indeed. Even at that, it had not been as bad as this one. She placed a hand on the wall in order to steady herself; she was alone and in her bedroom. If she collapsed she'd most likely be there until someone came looking for her the next day.

She should have _never_ gotten out of bed that morning. She'd awoken with a feeling of dread, and though it had lessened slightly while she was busy doing other things it had not gone away. Then came the dizzy spells and exhaustion, and now…Now this was happening.

_'You don't understand it, do you?'_ a voice murmured. It was soft, feminine, yet there was a certain hard-edge to it as well.

"Who are you, what are you talking about?" she bit out in aggravation.

All was silent for a moment, _'You'll understand in a minute, __**Universe.**__'_

Before the young woman could say or do anything, her body froze in place…A symbol briefly flashed on her forehead and then was gone. She remained still for several moments as images, old conversations played through her head…And then the memories of the past hit her full force.

When she spoke, her voice sounded slightly older, more care-worn yet free of the fear and pain it had been filled with before, "Simoria. Why did you make me forget?"

_'At your own request,'_ the ancient being replied. _'There was less chance of you being found out this way. The Elders and Great Council can't accuse the Sailor of the Universe for interfering, when she was doing it unknowingly.'_

"Why are you restoring me now then?" Universe spoke withdrawing her transformation pendant from her pocket; moments ago she had thought of it as nothing but a mere trinket, now she knew better.

_'Rekka is in danger, you were reacting to that. Kayura has been 'off' lately; therefore the armor went to the next guardian for assistance,' _Simoria explained, adding,_ 'I awoke you because if you don't hurry we might actually lose him.'_

"Over my dead body," she spat out, running out of her bedroom and slamming the door behind her. She took the steps two at a time and ran out into the rain.

Once the Guardian was out of any normal person's sight range, she gave the object she still held a quick twist, muttering, "We pushed things ahead, naturally that increases the severity of the situations."

_'I know, and so far they've all been able to handle it. But Rekka can't, the armors and virtues have worn him down too much,' _Simoria murmured.

"Blast it, why can't anything ever work without a hitch?" Universe demanded slamming to a halt, glancing about for something in particular.

Simoria gave a loud snort, _'Because, your luck doesn't run that way.'_

"Gee thanks for reminding me," the Scout bit out sarcastically, finding a shadow and quickly using it to teleport. Simoria had a point though; if there was anything the Sailor of the Universe was…It was unlucky.

With her current luck level, she'd be blessed if she made it in time to save Wildfire from getting decapitated or suffering from some other gory fate. Basing it on how her day had been so far? The Guardian was going to be cutting it _extremely _close.

* * *

Ryo had a hand pressed firmly over the wound in his stomach to try and impede the bleeding. His other hand was clenched in a fist, digging into the ground. As Thanos came closer, he let the dirt he had gathered fly.

It hit the ice demon right in the face, giving Ryo the chance to scramble to his feet and put some distance between them. Granted, it took some effort considering the wound he now sported, but Wildfire was doing his best to push the injury from his mind.

Ryo noticed that whatever amount of power he had was now gone, and panted out, "Wha…What did you do to me?"

Thanos gave a light chuckle, "It would be foolish of me to tell you exactly what I did. So all I will say is that your armor has been completely drained of it's power. Master Akemliek will soon be free."

"That's what you think," Wildfire's bearer had managed to get a hold on his breathing, and in an act of desperation he charged Thanos.

The ice demon remained still, sliding out of the way at the last minute and then delivered a hard punch to Wildfire's chest. The force caused Ryo to lose his footing and he once more fell to the ground; quickly rolling onto his back and bringing his arms up to shield himself.

Thanos had not followed after him though; he was standing there, as if contemplating his options.

"It is a shame you were so greatly weakened," the ice demon murmured, "With all that I have heard about your swordsmanship skills, I very much would have liked to meet you in a fair battle."

Ryo quirked an eyebrow at this while he moved to cover the still open-wound, wondering just where this would go…And whether anyone would get to him in time. He could just make out the other four at the edge of his senses, but he wasn't willing to trust his limited abilities in his current condition.

Thanos twirled the bloodied-dagger once, saying with a resigned sigh, "Unfortunately, my orders are to…" He was unable to complete the sentence, as he was forced to sheath the blade and bring up his hands to block a kick to his face. He then spun around striking out at his shadowed attacker, only to have the person leap out of his reach, or so he thought.

The ice demon let out a grunt as a heeled-boot connected with his gut, "Who's there?"

Instead of answering, the woman said in a cold tone, "I suggest you leave, Thanos."  
Ryo's eyes widened, he recognized that voice! But…But it was different from the one in his dreams, it sounded older in way, and more tattered.

"I asked a question!" Thanos snarled out, trying to strike at the shadowed figure again, only to find that she wasn't where he had assumed. He watched warily as she appeared in front of the Ronin of Wildfire, eyes narrowing trying to see if he could catch any of her features.

"I heard you, I just don't feel like answering," The warrior responded evenly, "Now, I'd take my warning and leave before I ground you into a fine powder for your attack on Rekka."

Thanos was quick to reach for his blade, hissing in irritation and slight pain when he felt something pierce his flesh. He pulled his hand to his face, eyes narrowing at what he saw…Quick to pull out what remained of the shard of ice and energy she had tossed at him.

"So, it is you then?" His voice held no anger or astonishment, merely curiosity.

Sailor Universe allowed the shadows to fall away, and glared at him, "Yes, now get out of here unless you've a death wish."

Thanos gave her a bow of his head, "Until we meet again," and then vanished.

_'I have got to find a way that I can stop being so gracious to sleaze-bags,' _Universe ranted mentally, turning around and moving to Ryo's side hastily kneeling down to see if there was anything she could do.

* * *

Ryo's face was a mixture of pain, confusion, relief, and so many other conflicting emotions, the Guardian was surprised he hadn't caved in on himself yet. "You…"

"Sh," the Scout placed a finger to his lips, the other hand trying to push his out of the way so she could see how bad the injury was…She was assuming the worst, seeing as how there was blood just about everywhere, then again it _was_ raining. "Just rest for now, okay? Let me see how much of a mess you are, Rekka-kun."

Ryo relaxed a little, not failing to notice her sharp intake of breath upon seeing the stab wound.

_'It's where,'_ he sent mentally…Not sure how he knew where her link was, only knowing it was there, _'Akemliek got me, right?'_

"Yes," she murmured out in slight surprise, though she focused more on trying to stop the bleeding. Her limited abilities in healing without the Cimmerian crystal were not enough to close a wound over, and even at that healing a wound completely was _never_ a good idea…It made the area of the wound more vulnerable.

"Blast it," she seethed in irritation, "I've got the bleeding stopped, but if they move you it's just going to start again. I need Seiji for this…I hope your Sage knows how to heal."

"Ryo!"

The Ronin of Wildfire sent her a pleading look, one she was quick to nod in response to, before permitting unconsciousness to take him.

"Over here!" she called in a tense tone, casting a brief glance to where she had thought the voices had come from.

Instead of slowing in surprise upon hearing the voice that answered, they quickened the pace…Coming to an almost dead halt when they saw the condition of the land around them.

* * *

"What the…?" the Ronin of Strata breathed out…Blood; there was much of it covering the ground, and he could see that Ryo's hands were covered in it.

"Take it easy, all of you," the Scout urged, realizing she needed to take initiative here, "It's bad, but not as bad as it looks. It's raining, that's why there's blood all over the place."

Cye was caught between being angry and general shock, "Kali was fighting us, but how could she have…?"

"This is Thanos' handy work," Universe answered softly, "You walked into a trap; they had to have been planning this for weeks. Kali was merely the distraction."

"Don't get angry now!" She said sharply, feeling the emotions currently radiating off of them all too keenly. If they got too emotional, she wouldn't be able to focus, especially since the armors were already in a panic. She turned her eyes to Sage, asking, "Can you heal?"

The Ronin of Halo balked at hearing her question, his face paled and his body tensed. Many thoughts ran through his head…He felt numb, light-headed almost, and asked in a rather timid tone, "Wha…What did you say?"

The other three Ronin looked to each other, and then back to Halo's bearer, puzzled expression on their faces; they knew that somehow they had missed something.

"That answers my question," the Scout replied, motioning him over, "Come here and help me."

Sage hesitated, saying in slight protest, "I...I don't think I can. The only time I demonstrated such a thing, was when I reflected light…."

"I'm aware, but that alone wouldn't have taken the poison out of Ryo's system that time," Universe commented, she kept a stern tone to her voice but was trying to be coaxing as well, "I also know that you tried to destroy Halo, and the armor repaired itself; and that you heal quicker than the others. You were born with the healer trait some three thousand years ago; it's not something you can lose. And the fact is, you have healed a wound on someone in this life, because if you hadn't you wouldn't be acting like this. Now lose your armor and get over here, Sage, because you and I both know you're not going to let Ryo die."

That was enough to get him to move into action as he quickly shed his armor completely, leaving him in normal clothes.

Sage then kneeled down next to her, asking in a tentative voice, "What do you want me to do?"

"I managed to get the bleeding to stop, but if you move him it'll start all over again and he can't afford to lose anymore blood," Universe explained, "I need you to close this over."

The blond swordsman jerked his head up sharply, looking at her with wide eyes, his body continued to remain tense, "I…"

"Sage," the Scout placed a hand on his shoulder, she kept her voice serene, "Calm down. I don't want you to heal it completely, that would make the spot weaker. The body works better when it can heal naturally; I need you to speed up the process more. I can't with the limited power I have, if I had the Cimmerian Crystal I would most likely be able to do it myself…But I don't have it, and with the seal I don't think it'd work anyway."

"How did you ever manage to heal us?" the Torrent Ronin wondered aloud, not meaning to be heard.

The Scout shook her head lightly, "You might have been separated from your armors, but it was in a mental aspect; I used them to heal you. They've severed Rekka from its bearer, I can't do anything." She turned her focus back to Sage, taking his hands and placing them over the wound…He continued to remain edgy though.

The Ronin of Halo had known all along he could heal, and not more than just slightly…He could heal a wound up to six inches in length, and six inches in depth. Suzunagi's armor, however, had shown that it could let him heal even further than that. Sage hated having the ability, when he used it he felt vulnerable and no matter how much or little he healed it always left him drained.

The only time he had healed an actual, gaping wound was on his sister Satsuki…Perhaps four or five years ago. She had slipped and fell onto an object…He couldn't remember what it was, only that it had penetrated deep. There had been no one around but he, Yayoi had been borrowing his car at the time, and the hospital was rather far from where they lived.

Sage had made his younger sister promise not to tell anyone, and she never had. But that experience, that had bothered him for quite a few days. He had been able to feel her fear, pain, and surprise so clearly he had almost drowned in those emotions. Needless to say, he was _not_ looking forward to a repeat. Because while Ryo might be unconscious, there was no telling what the man was feeling.

The Halo Ronin was abruptly jerked from his thoughts once more by the Scout, as she pinched his hands to regain his attention.

"Just concentrate on healing, get the wound to the point where it will start to close over naturally," the woman said softly, "Inside out, not outside in. Don't worry about the emotions; I'll be your buffer. You obviously don't remember how to block the other person's emotions; so leave that part to me, okay?"

Sage gave a nod in response, before letting his eyes slip shut and focusing as much as he could on what he needed to do.

* * *

"What are we supposed to do?" the Hardrock Ronin asked in a gruff tone; it was the first time he had spoken upon arriving here. He had been trying to get a handle on how this could have happened, and had managed to get a slight grip on the situation now. However, standing idle was not his thing.

Universe smirked at the three warriors standing in front of her now, "Being eye-candy isn't good enough for you?"

She let out a sigh as her attempt at humor did nothing to generate a response, "You should probably notify the Seasonals, if you haven't. By now Kayura knows something has happened to Rekka-kun. Oh, and your elemental partners as well, Nova-tachi don't like being the last ones to know things."

"Mental communication is down still," Rowen mumbled, testing out the Seasonal lines.

"Try Nova-tachi then, they might be in an area free of issues," she responded calmly, keeping her powers tuned on helping Sage stay in his own body. She could keep a bit of attention on the others though, being as old as she was, she knew how to multi-task.

Cye looked at her blankly, "Repeat what you just said, please?"

The Sailor of the Universe let out a loud groan, "Oh I don't believe this! You guys haven't even figured out how to communicate mentally with one another, yet?"

"As far as I know," the Strata Ronin commented, one eyebrow rose, "The Sailor Senshi aren't capable of that. They use those wrist watch things."

"Kaosu and Serenity are going to get a lecture from me," Universe gritted out, saying to them, "The Inner and Outer are not capable of it, _yet_;_ h_owever, Nova-tachi are. You want a suggestion? Work with the Elementals on figuring out how to communicate with each other. It comes in handy at times like these."

"Ya we'll keep it in mind," Cye murmured out, inquiring, "I suspect we should go find them?"

"You and Touma…Ah, sorry…Rowen," She quickly corrected herself, seeing the face he made at being called _'Touma,'_ "I want Kento here, he's going to have to carry Ryo back."

Rowen and Cye both nodded in agreement while Kento merely shrugged his shoulders. As the Ronin of Torrent walked past his friend, he gave him a grin, "Hey, you're lucky, you're _wanted_."

Kento gave a derisive snort to this, rolling his eyes, "Get going you nut. That's the type of comment I'd expect from Rowen."

"I know," Cye sniggered out, before dropping down to subarmor and vanishing out of sight.

Rowen gave a slight huff, "What's that supposed to mean?" Before, he too, booked it out of the clearing.

* * *

Kento did not fail to notice the slight smile on the Scout's face, and asked, "What's so amusing?"

"I've never seen you guys like this," she admitted quietly, "You were never as close as you are right now. It's just a relief to me, I'm glad to see it." She quickly turned her attention back to Sage and Ryo noticing that a soft glow was emanating from them both.

"Sage," Universe called gently, "Sage? Come on back, you can stop now. That's perfect." She gave a slight tug on his mental line, further pulling him back to the world around him.

The Ronin of Halo's eyes snapped open, his breathing heavy…Sweat-poured from his brow, and his cheeks were slightly flushed, "Did it work?"

The Scout gave a nod, and he pulled his hands away from the wound, placing them on his lap…Trying desperately to regain some of the breath he had lost, he felt more drained now then he had when Kali absorbed his armor's power.

"You okay, Sage?" the Warrior of Strength prodded his friend; not liking the way he was looking right now.

The blonc swordsman gave a nod, saying breathlessly, "Yeah, fine."

"Get Ryo out of here Shuu," the Guardian Scout urged, "The rain's about to start again, that's the last thing he needs."

"Kay Lady Universe," the Ronin of Hardrock he might have been, but he could be gentle when he needed to be. He picked his unconscious leader up and held him as though he were a small child. Kento gave a slight bow of his head to the Scout, and a look to Sage, before turning around and leaving.

* * *

"You did well," Universe murmured to the Ronin, pulling him from his thoughts again. His breathing had steadied somewhat, but he still felt exhausted and as though he did not have the strength to stand.

She placed a hand to his forehead, Sage stiffened at the contact even more so when he felt his strength dwindling, puzzled when it came back and in excess.

"What did you do?" the swordsman was baffled, as he now felt better than he had prior to healing Ryo. He was able to get to his feet without an issue, though Universe rose gradually.

"My secret," the Senshi merely smiled at him and then said, "Seiji, he'll be all right. I really should not do anymore to aide you, but I am not going to let him die. Here," she dropped something into his palm, slowly closing his hands around the object, "Ryo's going to need that."

Sage knew what it was without looking at it; he felt the familiar warmth of the yoroi orb yet recognized its power as being Wildfire's. There was one thing he just had to ask, "Why have you been helping us? And I don't want to hear the 'because Kayura asked' excuse."

"Because," the Sailor of the Universe responded easily, trying not to show surprise at the question, "I swore an oath to defend the ones who would defeat Akemliek."

"You can't kid me like that," the Ronin of Halo commented in the same tone she was using, "My virtue might not be 'Trust,' but I can tell when a person is hiding something. And…I know you, or I remember that you do not do anything unless you have a real reason behind it."

The warrior shook her head, sighing out, "Must you always be able to read me like a book? If you have to know, if it's that important to you," something passed her eyes just then, a flicker of pain and perhaps guilt, "You were the firstfriends I ever had, and you didn't begrudge me just because it was my job to watch over you. You _were_ my family, and while you aren't the exact same people you used to be, their still there somewhere."

She gave him a sad smile, "Even if they weren't, I'd still be loyal to you. Goodbye Sage, until we next meet. Please keep looking out for each other, like you have been doing…Don't change."

The Scout of the Universe bowed her head to him, and then slipped into the nearest shadow vanishing from his sight…Sage stood there in stunned silence for a few moments, before the object in his palm heated up dragging him back to reality once again.


	36. Chapter 35: A Complication

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

"**A Complication"**

* * *

The Ronin of Hardrock remained in silent thought as he made his way back to the house. Every now and then, he would glance at his charge before returning his attention to the forest around him. His mind still couldn't wrap around the fact that Ryo had been attacked, right under their noses.

Shock, that was probably why Kento felt numb right now; he was too stunned to believe that something this bad could happen. They were a team; they were supposed to be unbeatable. They had taken everything the Dynasty had thrown at them, as well as beings not even tied to it…They hadn't come out of those fights unscathed, but they had never been beaten this badly.

Kento cast a quick look over his shoulder when he heard someone coming up behind him. Relief filled his face once he saw that it was Sage.

"That was a speedy recovery," he quipped to the blond.

The Halo Ronin offered his friend a grin, "You know me. I bounce back pretty fast."

To this Kento gave a snort, before saying softly, "Guess the badguys are getting desperate. They've never attacked physically, not to this extent."

"Mental attacks just weren't working anymore," the swordsman murmured, "So they opted for something a little more harmful."

"Mm," a frown quickly formed on Kento's face, though it turned into a sigh of relief. The Ronins of Torrent and Strata had found and notified the other warriors; they were on their way back to the mansion now.

"Aww man," Kento gritted in irritation as a light rain started to fall, luckily the house was in sight now. The Warrior of Strength slowed in surprise at seeing White Blaze sitting on the porch, waiting for them.

* * *

The tiger's ears were back, and his tail twitched in irritation. His brown-eyes regarded them calmly, and he let out a small huff. When they had left the house to go fight, the animal had been asleep…They hadn't waited for him to wake up, and left without him.

If they had just waited a few more minutes, the thought ran through his mind, would Ryo be like this now? He shook his head slightly to clear it, eyes narrowing as a new thought popped up. How did White Blaze get outside?

As if in answer, the tiger let out a low whine just as Kento's feet touched the porch steps and then the front door swung open. The light caught her eyes in such a way that it made them appear almost completely violet; but when he blinked and got closer they were her normal hazel-violet.

"Mei mei," Hardrock's bearer frowned, and was about to inquire what she was doing there but she cut him off.

"Get him upstairs, and I'll see if there's anything I can do," Elayne murmured quietly, adding in her head, _'Not much, until Yayoi gets here, anyway.'_

"Okay," the look he gave her signaled they needed to talk later, and to this she gave a nod in response.

Sage voiced the other man's unasked question, eyeing her carefully, "What are you doing here?"

"I've had a fever off and on the past few days, they sent me home," she walked up to the swordsman, placing a hand to his cheek. "Universe might've given you strength, but you're exhausted."

"An, you didn't answer my question," he tilted his head to study her, yet kept a stern tone to his voice, "They sent you home, fine. But…"

"Fine," she bit out sourly, "I saw what happened. That's why I came here, to see if there was anything I could do, medically. Don't say anything to anyone about this, Nii-chan. We will be drowning in kittens, if you do."

"Didn't know Cye was a cat person," he chuckled out, offering a slight smile, "I'll rest later. You go on; I'll wait for the others."

"All right," she stepped into the house, the white tiger instantly at her side, and then paused, "Sage, I know you're upset and distraught. But, don't stay out here all night, please."

The Ronin of Halo merely sighed, softly shaking his head. It was pretty sad when a person knew him that well.

* * *

No more than fifteen minutes later, the Shinwako mansion was once more filled with occupants. Dread, confusion, anger and other unpleasant emotions filtered throughout the air, making it extremely hard for Elayne to concentrate.

Not only that, but unfortunately she was stuck with the most annoyed inhabitants while trying to work. Rowen's temporary shock had worn off, and had been replaced with a good deal of irritation. If Kali walked in on them, she'd be dead in seconds that's about how angry he was.

Cye was angry as well, but nowhere near as much as the archer. That was a good thing; Elayne doubted very much she'd be able to handle both of them whilst they were mad. Kento was the only one dealing with this rationally; he had managed to get past his shock and was doing what he could to help keep the others calm.

In fact, he had been the one to go out and bring Sage in, deciding the Ronin of Halo had spent enough time outside brooding. Currently the blond swordsman was sitting on his bed, and though he was physically there his mind was elsewhere.

"I'm going to go down and talk with Kayura," the Hardrock Ronin announced, he had been unable to sit still. "You guys going to be okay?" He got a handful of mumbled responses, none whatsoever from Sage, not that it surprised him any.

Kento let out a sigh, "Mei mei?"

"I'll be fine, as long as Rowen and Cye keep a hold on their tempers," she responded calmly, she had managed to get the wound and the area around it clean. She put the finishing touches on the bandage, adding, "Even if they don't, I'll still be fine. But, they won't be then."

The Warrior of Strength merely chuckled at her attempt to try and bring some humor to a dreadfully horrible situation. He then walked out of the room shutting the door behind him.

* * *

Elayne ran a hand through the Wildfire Ronin's hair, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh. Right now, he was teetering on the brink of falling into a coma. The only thing that had prevented him from getting there was Sage's intervention.

"You've lost too much blood, Ryo," she murmured softly.

Cye looked up sharply, demanding, "How much is too much?"

"He should be dead," the girl ground out not failing to notice the tone in which the man had spoken. "With as much blood as he lost, and with how quickly lost it, he should've gone into shock."

"He hasn't gone into shock?" Sage inquired lowly, brow furrowed in thought.

"No, not yet," she answered, "Whatever you managed to do, slowed down his body's reaction time. Normally, his armor would have done that for him. It's how they managed to keep you from acquiring gaping wounds and other severe injuries. At least, that's what Kayura thinks."

"He's not going to make it is he?" Rowen had been silent a great deal, well when he wasn't ranting and raving under his breath about how he was going to tear Kali apart. "With as much blood as he's lost, he needs a transfusion in order to survive, right?"

"Un," she nodded in response, jumping to her feet when she heard a knock on the door. "I'll be right back," she then quickly dashed from the room.

* * *

Kento ran a hand through his hair as he listened to the Seasonals try to discuss what could be done. They seemed to believe that if left alone for long, Ryo could die from the loss of connection with his armor. The Hardrock Ronin had to shake his head; poor Ryo, the guy was really batting a thousand to one odds here…If one thing didn't kill him, something else would.

The Warrior of Strength sighed through his nose, currently the four men were arguing over the possible things that might happen if this issue was left unresolved if Ryo survived the normal aspect. Was it just him, or where there an awful lot of 'if's there? He shifted his weight slightly; the living room looked rather empty with only six people in it.

The Elemental Senshi had vacated the area, not long ago, having headed up to their room for some sleep. They were concerned for Ryo of course, but the four young women had ended up dealing with a great deal of Raikken and were completely exhausted. It was probably better that they were sleeping; they didn't need to deal with the aggravation Kento currently found himself dealing with.

"All right, now let's hold on a minute," Kayura broke in, deciding to get a hold on the situation. She turned her attention to Hardrock once silence had fallen, "What did Universe say exactly?"

"That they had severed Rekka from its bearer," the man answered, saying further, "I think she was implying that it was a physical severing. She said the reason she could heal us like she did, was because they had only separated us from our armors mentally."

"Rekka," Kayura chuckled softly to herself, "She's using the old names again."

"Cale, Dais is this information helpful at all?" Anubis inquired of the eldest in their group. He knew very well that both were more knowledgeable in this area then he was. "Do either of you know of a spell or curse that might match this description?"

"Unfortunately, I know of plenty," Dais answered with a frown, "Without having a better idea of what the exact spell might be, this could take some time."

"Kali seems to like to play with The Forbidden," the bearer of Winter said calmly, "So we should start there. But still, there is much to…" He stopped, shooting a look to the door and not even a moment later noise came from there.

"It's not the other Senshi, they would've just come in," Kento remarked making his way to the door, and opening it. His eyes widened in surprise at seeing the person standing there.

"Yayoi-san?"

"Hello Kento-kun," the woman gave a bow of her head, "I am sorry to bother you. But, I have brought what An needed…"

"You have excellent timing," Elayne breathed out from behind the Hardrock Ronin. She had forgone the use of stairs, and merely jumped down from the second floor railing. Thanking her lucky stars, that neither Cye nor Kirstin had seen that; since both would've given her a lecture on how to make use of the staircase.

"Runs in the family. There's a cooler in my trunk, and everything else is in a box on the backseat," Yayoi blinked slightly, at the man that had suddenly joined them.

"So," Cale inquired having come to what was going on, "This is one of Halo's sisters?"

Yayoi gave a frown, if this man knew of the armors, then, "I suspect this is a Seasonal bearer?"

"Yes to both questions," Elayne answered, "I'd do the formal thing, but we really don't have time for that. Cale and Kento can you two please get the items Yayoi mentioned out of her car?"

"Sure thing, come on Cale," the Hardrock Ronin, "I'll show you what they were talking about."

Yayoi frowned slightly, fully prepared to make a comment, but Elayne was quick to make her intentions known.

"I need you to take a look at my 'problem,'" She murmured a pleading look in her eyes, "Not only are you a doctor, I want someone else's opinion."

"Okay," the woman gave a nod, and entered the house.

Yayoi eyed the four people sitting in the living room with a raised eyebrow, and they watched her with much of the same reaction. Though, none of them posed a question as Elayne quickly mouthed 'later' to them.

The eldest of the Date children remained silent, until they walked up the stairs and reached the first floor landing, "You said 'O.' If Kento-kun is all right, then am I to assume Ryo is the one in need of a transfusion?"

"Yes," the girl nodded a grave look on her face. "Yayoi, to be honest I'm more worried about the ones awake, than I am about the one unconscious."

"Seiji's not taking it too well, ne?" she inquired shaking her head, "Doesn't surprise me. I'm an outsider and I can see how tight the bond between the five of them is. It's always been that way; when Sage first brought them home…You just knew. For something like this to happen to them, they must be a mess."

"Mm," Elayne murmured, adding, "It doesn't help that out of them all, Sage is the most protective of Ryo."

"Ryo-kun is the little brother that Seiji never had," Yayoi pointed out knowingly, "And I am certain he saw Ryo-kun at his worst, more often than the others."

If she had only known how right she was…

* * *

When the door opened, Rowen merely gaped at the person who stepped in. He could form no words, his mind drawing a complete and total blank.

"Yayoi-san!" Cye greeted just as blown away as the archer.

Hearing that name, Sage snapped out of his stupor violet eyes connecting with her almond-brown ones. He looked at his sister open mouthed.

Yayoi let out a merry chuckle, "Hello, little brother." She messed up his too tidy hair, resisting the urge to roll her eyes when it fell neatly back in place. She had always wished her hair could do that.

Sage was more taken aback by the show of affection, than her presence here, "Nee-chan? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was in the neighborhood," she said as if that were explanation enough. She smiled at his deepened scowl, and elaborated, "An-chan asked me to drop in, and check on some of her patients."

Cye and Rowen exchanged looks, and then shot curious glances to Elayne; who had once more taken up her spot by Ryo. White Blaze was on the floor, at the foot of the bed, watching his cub with a protective gaze.

Yayoi offered her younger brother a kind smile, and then walked over to get a better look at Ryo. Her breath hissed in, as she noticed how pale the young man was.

"Elayne…"

"It's not all because of the blood loss, the enemy cut his connection with Wildfire," she quickly interjected, "I explained to you about exactly how much blood he lost, and that his body hasn't gone into full shock yet."

"Doing the transfusion here is risky," the woman commented.

"Taking him to a hospital is riskier," the girl countered, "Not only will the doctors ask questions that cannot be answered, but the enemy could follow and then there'd be innocent lives hanging in the balance. Plus, he shouldn't be moved. Anything sudden could send him over."

"This is what I like about you, you think over all options before settling on one," Yayoi murmured in praise, "However, if we do the transfusion…" She tried not to smile at the look of relief in Elayne's face…Yayoi assumed the girl originally figured she wouldn't be able to help, "There's a risk he could lose the blood we give him, due to internal bleeding."

"She's right," Rowen had miraculously found his voice, "And there's no way to tell if he's got an internal injury. Not here anyway."

"Ah Ro-chan," Yayoi tsked him lightly, "Don't just assume things. Did you find any internal injuries, An?"

"I haven't been able to look for any," she murmured quietly, placing a hand to her forehead as if trying to clear her thoughts, "There's too much emotion, so I can't focus clearly."

"You can do it in a crowded hospital," Yayoi was frowning, "And obviously, you have managed to slow down his body's natural reaction even more than it already was."

"It's not that easy!" she cried in exasperation, "There's no emotion in a recovery room, or in surgery that I can't block out. This place, these grounds, too much has happened here in the past and whatever is lingering here still is so concentrated that it throws me off."

"What are we missing?" Cye arched an eyebrow, looking back and forth between the two women.

However, a knock on the door interrupted them, and then Kayura poked her head into the room, "Is there anything we can do to help?"

She then stepped to the side, allowing Kento and Cale to enter with what they had taken from Yayoi's car. The other three Seasonals were standing behind the Lady Ancient.

Sage let out a soft chuckle, "You can come in, Kayura, we don't bite."

Yayoi and Elayne both snorted at this, and rolled their eyes in near perfect unison. Yeah right…The guys didn't bite, often at least.

"Thank-you both," the girl was quick to state to the two men as they deposited what they held. She looked to Yayoi as if waiting for further instruction.

"Actually, there is," the woman stated with a smile, "Take the three Walking Wounded, as well as Kento-kun, and see if you can't get them to eat something. Them littering about the room, isn't going to do much except annoy me. I need privacy, An needs concentration."

Kayura gave a nod in acknowledgement, and she and the four Seasonals turned and walked down the hall, waiting on the Ronin before going down.

* * *

"We're being kicked out of our own room?" Rowen raised a blue-eyebrow at this, and was gently pushed towards the door by Elayne.

"Consider this your two-minute eviction notice," she quipped, glancing to Cye who almost managed to smile. He walked out of the room behind the archer, Kento giving a polite bow of his head to Yayoi before following after.

Sage hesitated as he slowly got to his feet, only to have his legs give out…Luckily he managed to lean back so he fell on the bed, yet the action was not missed by the two women in the room.

"Kayura! Forget about Sage, his exploits just decided to catch up with him," Elayne called out, getting up and closing the door. She didn't want to have to listen to Rowen whine about the injustice of it all. The girl then set about setting everything up while Yayoi checked on her brother.

Yayoi tilted her head, looking her brother over with a frown, "You have a case of exhaustion. Bed rest and lots of it, doctor's orders."

"I thought you didn't like an audience, and that An needed to be able to concentrate?" the blonde swordsman inquired.

"Your thoughts are so muddled, I can barely pick them up," Elayne cheerfully commented.

Yayoi let out a small laugh, before telling him, "It's fine, Seiji. Besides now you get a chance to see how An cheats at work."

"Yayoi-nee-chan, I don't cheat," she whined out, having finished rigging everything up. "I just find out whether or not my wondrous colleagues have made fatal errors." Elayne let her eyes slip shut, permitting the jewel around her neck to do what it did best…Find where potential problems might be, and then allowing her to fix them.

"How?" Sage asked in a low voice, so as not to disturb her.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Yayoi admitted sitting down next to him, "Grandfather seems to think that at one time a healer had that jewel, and thus the impression left behind allows the wearer to see and fix problems."

"He's right," a ghost of a smile crossed his lips, "A healer did own it. How are things at home?"

"Everything is fine," she answered calmly, before inquiring, "I thought you decided you were not going to take over the dojo? So why did you ask for the papers…"

"Because, I owe my family more, but all I can give right now is my assistance in things that can be handled from a distance," he answered.

Sage leaned back onto the bed, placing his arms behind his head, "At the time of the argument Grandfather and I had…I was anxious and uptight. I did not need to be pushed, and he pushed. Even back then, Halo was trying to warn me that something else was coming. But as things are right now, I cannot take over. I will not abandon my friends."

"They're not your friends Seiji," she shook her head at him and smiled, "They're your brothers. Why do you insist on trying to deny that fact?"

"Habit," he murmured, eyes slipping shut sighing out, "Once I have learned something, it is hard for me to forget it."

Yayoi inwardly winced at hearing this, knowing that no matter how much she might have wanted to deny it…It was true. Being first born, she had been taught much of the things Sage had…However, when he had been old enough to start learning the ways of the clan; she had been able to loosen up. To follow her own goals and dreams, and not the ones set down for her by the family. In that respect, she felt bad for her younger brother; though, like any other older sister she did her best not to show it.

* * *

"Yayoi-nee-chan?" Elayne called softly, noting that Sage had finally fallen asleep.

The woman jerked her head up, as she was torn from her thoughts. She blinked a few times, and then remembered where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. She got up and walked over, asking, "Are we good to go?"

The girl nodded, "Mhm. There wasn't any internal damage."

"This should take about," Yayoi glanced at the package of blood, "Mm, well it's 500 milliliters, so that means?"

"Four hours," Elayne answered without having to think about it, and then offered a sheepish grin.

Yayoi smiled, and raised an eyebrow at the girl she considered to be a younger sister, "So why do you need me again, if you know how to do all this?"

"The reason is currently sound asleep," she pointed to Sage's slumbering form, "I knew you being here would help calm him down. And where he won't listen to me, he will listen to you without questioning. It's that whole older sibling privilege."

Yayoi let out a soft laugh at this, and gave a nod of her head in agreement; how so very true.

Elayne frowned as she cast worried eyes back to Ryo…What could have severed the connection between the Ronin Leader and his armor? If the link between the two wasn't restored soon, it didn't matter what they did on the medical aspect…Ryo would die.

Suddenly something brushed across her senses, and a familiar voice murmured, _'It's an elemental obstruction spell.'_

"No way," Elayne breathed out, quickly getting to her feet.

Yayoi watched her closely, inquiring, "An?"

"I thank-you for your help Yayoi-nee-chan," the girl bowed her head, "But you'll have to excuse me, I just realized something."

She quickly exited the room, and once more forewent the stairs, landing in a kneeling position in the living room. She managed to startle the dozing occupants into wakefulness, and noticed that Cye was giving her a reproving look which she dutifully ignored.

* * *

"What's wrong now?" Sekhmet groaned out, normally she adhered pretty strictly to a mortal's standard of behaving…She only gave it up if something was important.

"Cale, Dais, it's an elemental obstruction spell," the girl looked at the two as she said this.

Both men exchanged worried glances, before Dais spoke up, "Well, that helps immensely. There are only two types. The first prevents an outside element from healing the victim."

Cale gave a nod, saying, "While the second prevents an outside element and the victim's elements from healing…" He stopped, turning to Dais, saying, "That's it then."

"Mm," the Summer Seasonal stroked his chin thoughtfully, "The use of that spell would explain why the connection between armor and bearer has been severed. Though, that leaves me to question how Halo managed to heal Ryo at all."

"Universe said," Kento's brows were furrowed, as he tried to recall what he had heard, "That Sage was born with the ability, and he never lost it. The armor merely boosted it."

"That's why he's so exhausted then," Elayne broke in, "Halo couldn't help him any, so Sage ended up doing almost all the work himself."

"Is there anything we can do to help Ryo?" Rowen softly inquired.

Cale hesitated before he answered, "Spells of such a nature, rarely have counter-spells to them. They are intended to kill the victim."

"Great…just great," Cye shook his head saying bitterly, "Our lives just keep getting better and better."

"We'll go back and look through the library," Dais suddenly said, "Universe wouldn't have known what it was, unless it had been used in the past. At least, I am assuming that is where the information came from?"

Elayne merely smiled in response to the question, and everyone took that as being a 'yes.' After all, it was rather obvious, wasn't it?

"We'll get going now," Cale headed for the door, "Anubis, notify us if anything occurs."

The Spring Seasonal gave a nod, "I will do that."

Cale and Dias hadn't even been out of the house five minutes yet, when Elayne crossed her arms in front of her chest, saying "Now, that's done with, and there isn't anything more you all can do except try and get some sleep. No protesting or I'll get the certified doctor down here to back me up."

Kento yawned and stood up, "You'll get no complaints out of me, mei mei. Night all."

"You evicted us," the Strata Ronin reminded her with a snort, "Have you had a change of heart?"

"No, your Mom paid the rent for your sorry butt," the girl bit out sarcastically, "Get going, Ro, no more wise comments!"

"Yeah yeah," the blue-haired archer rolled his eyes and proceeded to ascend the stair-case.

Cye walked past her, and grinned wryly, "Next time, use the stairs on your way down."

"How did I know you were going to comment on that?" she inquired of no one in particular, "You're such a Mom, Cye."

The Torrent Ronin beamed, "I know, and it irritates you so badly…So, I'm more than willing to have the label."

"Cye," she narrowed her eyes, and he chuckled before patting her on the head and following the other two Ronin.

"Mm," Kayura stretched saying with a sigh, "It's going to be a long night."

Everyone remaining in the living room had to agree with her there; there was no telling when Cale and Dais would return…Knowing them, it'd probably be in the pre-dawn hours. Thus began another waiting period, and hopefully this one wouldn't last as long as previous ones.


	37. Chapter 36: A Shred of Hope

_A/N: Will Ryo live, or will he die? I can't be that cruel, can I? You'll just have to wait and see. Here's your two chapter update! Enjoy_

_-LG_

**Chapter Thirty-Six**

"**A Shred of Hope"**

* * *

Kayura let her eyes linger on the window, wincing as lightning flashed in the distance. The wind was whipping through the trees, and she was certain the earth itself was trembling.

Now, more than ever before, the elements were close to the ones that bore them. No longer was it just the armors feeding off the wearers emotions, now it was the elements that reacted to the warriors' current states.

It was concerning, yet at the same time Neo-Universe said that was a good sign…They were going to need to be able to feel through the elements, or so she had said. Kayura gave a soft sigh, knowing that this storm was only a fraction of what the four young men were feeling.

With that thought in mind, she wouldn't have wanted to be Kali for all the world.

"We were expecting something to happen," Sekhmet grumbled out, annoyance showed prominently in his features, "But nothing like this. We planned for everything, but this."

Anubis gave a slight nod, "We knew it would be bad, but I fear we greatly underestimated just how far they were willing to go. We did know it would be a harsh blow."

"Oh it was harsh? More like a crippling blow," Kayura murmured turning to face her companions as she spoke. "Thanos has left Ryo's life hanging in the balance. He and Kali did this right under the other fours noses, right under our own, and the two of them have left us helpless to do a thing."

"At least we're not completely helpless," the bearer of Fall pointed out, trying to reassure her, "Dais and Cale will find out how to fix the issue, and then we'll fix it."

"What if they don't, Sekhmet? What if there is no solution?" she inquired softly, eyes lowered to the floor. "If Ryo does die, the other four will be as good as lost to us."

"If those two can come up with nothing," Elayne brought in, stepping into the room, "Then we'll just have to try something else. I'm not one for giving up, and I so blame that on them." She pointed up the stairs as if to motion to the Ronin, and then added, "All of them, actually."

Anubis let out a light chuckle, "I take it you are here because the other three finally fell asleep?"

She gave a brisk nod, "Cye and Kento were easy. Rowen, I had to con into passing out."

Dais and Cale took that moment to reappear in the middle of the room, arms laden with scrolls and books. They proceeded to unceremoniously deposit the objects on the coffee table.

"We decided to do the rest of our searching here," Cale announced picking up a scroll to read. "The floor there was getting very uncomfortable to sit on. I think I'll just stand here though."

Dais let out a sigh, "We did look through the Forbidden book, but could find nothing. We have been searching through other things, yet have had no luck."

"I checked the inventory list we used last time, and it was not helpful," Cale brought in, tossing another piece of parchment aside, letting out a low growl. Both he and Dais were getting frustrated, they knew what they needed…Or, they thought they knew what they needed, they just couldn't find it.

Elayne looked through the inventory list herself, eyebrows sharply going up, "Elemental control…Elemental strengthening…Elemental duplication… Geez, what didn't Talpa keep in his library?"

"One Thousand Ways to Cook Ramen Noodles?" Dais offered with a slight shrug of his shoulders, slamming the book he had opened shut…This wasn't the right one either.

"Actually," Cale bit back a small chuckle, "I stumbled across that one day."

"You're kidding!" Kayura gaped at the man, who merely smirked in response.

Elayne sniggered in amusement, "Cale, you're horrible."

"Why thank you for noticing," He took a mock bow, and then went back to reading the book in his hand, "Finally! I found it. Elemental Obstruction spells."

"Bout time, that only took us an hour-and-a-half," Dais grumbled in annoyance, falling silent allowing the other man to read it over.

Cale put it down and scowled, "It says there isn't a counter spell, but the rest is so worn I can barely read it."

"Let me have a look," Elayne was on her tip-toes, reading over his shoulder.

Cale rolled his eyes, "Didn't your parents teach you that it's rude to look over a person's shoulder?" He handed the book to her, with a sigh.

"I know it's rude; annoys the hell out of Rowen and Cye. My parents weren't around long enough to teach me anything," she bluntly retorted, taking the book and scrutinizing it carefully.

Sekhmet let out a chuckle in amusement, and covered up a yawn with his hand.

_'All right,'_ Elayne looked over the text; if Cale couldn't read this then she couldn't either. But she needed to make it look like she could read it, _'Tell me how to go about fixing this.' _She waited for the voice; she had quickly become used to, to speak and then relayed the information aloud to the warriors.

"In order for the spell to be undone, it has to be overpowered," she said, as though she was reading it straight from the book, she closed it up and handed it back to Cale.

"How do you over power a spell?" Sekhmet arched a fine-green eyebrow at this.

Kayura frowned in thought, "The spell prevents the victim's element, and an outside one from healing them. Therefore, two elements have to be used in the healing process. As far as reestablishing the connection between Ryo and Wildfire…"

_'Leave that to me,' _Universe broke in, obviously the Scout had been closely monitoring the situation._ 'You're just going to need another source in addition to yourself, Lady Kayura.'_

"I can always wake up Sage. Thankfully, he's easier to deal with on little sleep than Rowen is." Elayne put in, "And you have the Cimmerian Crystal, for all it's worth."

"Thank-you both," Kayura breathed out a small sigh of relief, she turned to her four companions, "And for your efforts as well, of course. Please get some rest, there is little more you can do but save your strength in case the enemy tries anything foolish in the days to come."

The four men bowed their heads, mumbling words of good luck before disappearing up the stairs and to their own room. Left alone with silence, Kayura and Elayne exchanged weary glances before giving nods and climbing the stairs themselves.

* * *

"Is Yayoi-san, still here?" Kayura queried in a soft tone.

Elayne gave a nod, "Un. I didn't think she should be driving out in that mess. Since the Senshi are gone, their rooms are free. She's in that one," the girl pointed to a door, "If we need her, we're supposed to wake her up. But, I didn't tell her she could be of no further help. Can't be insulting my older siblings like that."

Kayura gave a gentle laugh, saying with a sigh, "I hope this works."

"You and me both," Elayne's hand rested on the doorknob, and she quickly opened the door, stepping into the room

Elayne took a brief glance around noting with satisfaction that its occupants were in deep sleep…Meaning, not even Talpa banging on the door would've woken them up. Luckily, out of them all the Ronin of Halo was a light sleeper…It wouldn't take that much prodding to wake him up. Or, so she was hoping anyway.

She strode over to where Sage lay sleeping, and gently shook him by his shoulders, "Nii-chan, hey Nii-chan! Come on Sage, wake up."

One violet-eye slowly opened, and regarded the girl with a non-too pleased look.

"What?" He groggily demanded, the note in his voice stating he could kill.

Kayura couldn't help but giggle at the expression, and the blond swordsman slowly sat up, a puzzled look creeping onto his face.

"And here I was telling the Seasonals, you were much nicer to wake up. Heh, oh well," She gave a small sigh of disappointment. Then inquired, "You feeling any better?"

"My strength is back, but my right arm still hurts," He rubbed it thoughtfully, looking around the room, "You managed to get the others to rest?"

"Cye and Kento were not an issue, Rowen was his normal-painish self," the girl commented, "After physical and verbal threats I took the easy way out and slipped something into his drink."

Sage opened his mouth, and then closed it just as quickly, shaking his head, "Not going to even go there. What are you two doing here now that requires me to be awake?"

"Dais and Cale went back to the Dynasty to look for information," Kayura explained softly, so as not to disturb the others. "We found what the problem is, and in order to fix it we are in need of your assistance. It is a form of healing, but it's different from what you were doing earlier."

"Why me?" the Ronin of Halo inquired, "Is not Sekhmet capable of healing others?"

"In certain ways yes," Kayura admitted, "Even Cye could learn to heal, if trained properly. You've the most experience, and technically speaking you are the closest to Wildfire."

"I am n-…"

"Don't lie," Elayne yawned out, "You called to check on him every week, so don't give me that. I don't care if it was after Sanada-san's little episode. Don't try and kid a kidder, Nii-chan. You'd bind Ryo up in bubble wrap to keep him safe."

"How do you know?" the swordsman asked incredulously, the girl merely gave an impish grin in response. He gave a shake of his blond head, and crawled out of the bed, grabbing the two marble orbs laying on the nightstand.

Kayura cleared her throat, "I'd be more than amused to listen to this sibling squabble, but we do have work to do."

"You're such a spoil-sport, Kayura," Elayne teased before walking over, and plopping down next to White Blaze.

* * *

The white tiger opened his eye a crack, rumbling out, _'Do I even want to know?'_

"Probably not," she admitted, affectionately running a hand over his head, "Kayura and Sage are going to try and dissolve the spell; I get to play cheerleader."

The Ronin of Halo gave a snort at the remark, yet did not comment on it. He merely placed the Wildfire orb in Ryo's palm, while holding onto his own.

He let out a slightly nervous breath, "Now what? Concentrate?"

"Pretty much, really original, don't you think?" the Lady Ancient inquired rolling her blue eyes, "'Close your eyes and concentrate,' yeah they couldn't come up with a better way to do these things?"

"Rant mode," Elayne coughed under her breath, White Blaze sniggered.

Sage let out a breath, before letting his eyes slip shut, instinctively curling his hand around the sphere that held Halo. Silence reigned over the room, save for gentle snores and breathing of the occupants. Not like you could term Rowen's snores gentle, but Sage was sure he didn't have any room to talk.

"What is that?" he whispered aloud.

It was dark at first, but the darkness faded away to reveal nine strands of what looked to be thread. Upon closer inspection they were revealed to be strands of energy, each colored slightly different from the other.

"I think it might be the links to the armors…They're coming across visibly," Kayura whispered, her mind's eye revealing to her the same thing Sage was seeing.

_'You would be correct, Lady Kayura,'_ a female voice softly chuckled.

Sage tensed, before relaxing recognizing the presence, and teased, "Interfering when you're not supposed to be?"

_'Aren't I always?' _the Scout whimsically inquired.

Kayura might've laughed, but she was trying to keep hold of the task hand; "Universe? Are you having any luck? And where…"

"Still here, Kayura," Elayne broke in, her eyes were open and she was warily watching the scene before her. She was prepared to jump in the moment their strength started to fade; she had been told it would be best to do it that way.

_'More than you, I think,'_ Universe responded after a moment or two of hesitation, _'But, I'm going to need you to get rid of the spell before I can permanently resolve this.'_

"All right, it's just a matter of finding Wildfire among these strands," Kayura responded, her face was drawn up into a frown.

A few moments pass, and Sage came across the thinnest one, "Found it."

"All right, cross Halo's line with it," Kayura directed, while doing something similar herself.

* * *

White Blaze watched the proceedings, warily, he remembered this spell from a time not so long ago, it had worked…But, the cost had almost been too dear.

_'You worry too much my old friend,' _a voice whispered in his mind softly.

The tiger gave an indignant snort, _'I remember what happened the last time this spell was used. It almost killed all three of you, Lady Universe. My memory is still intact, thank you very much.__'_

_'My my Byakuen, you're starting to sound like your master, with that wit of yours,' _She teased gently. _'Have a little faith in me, boy. When this was tried the last time, it was the first time I had ever used it. I have much more power and knowledge now than I did then.'_

_'I have plenty of faith in you. But it will still drain the two of them to a hazardous point…'_

_'No it won't, I put the blocks in place. It will only take what is necessary from them; the rest will come from the crystal and myself. I've learned much in the past millennia…How to control this spell, as well.'_

_'Hmm…' _White Blaze frowned as a soft green glow became visible around Sage, _'Looks like they've started.'_

_'You'll excuse me then? My absence must've been noticed by now.' _

_'I'm sure it has,' _he gave a slight purr;_ 'It was good hearing from you again, Lady.'_

_'And you, Byakuen. Till our next talk, my friend.'_

"Blaze?" Elayne asked quietly, blinking when he rubbed into her. "What's up?"

He shook his mane, and rumbled out, _'Nothing, merely talking to an old friend.'_

* * *

Sage paused for breath, eyes still closed, "Universe, where'd you vanish to?"

_"Still here,"_ she responded, _"How are you two doing?"_

"It was going all right, up until now," the swordsman sighed heavily through his nose, "I can't do anything more though, Halo's refusing to let me."

"I'm done too," Kayura commented.

_"Hmm, then leave the rest to me. If you are unable to do anything more it is because you are coming close to depleting your normal energy."_

"That only happens during healing spells, if someone employs a restriction spell, even I know that," Sage told her bluntly.

_"Well then, consider it employed,"_ she sharply returned, adding, "_The last time I used this avenue of healing, it almost cost me two charges because I didn't know the restriction spell."_

Kayura's eyes slowly fluttered open, and she held still until the wave of dizziness had passed. White Blaze was regarding her with a worried expression on his face.

"I'm fine Blaze, just a little light-headed," the young woman paused a minute, regarding Elayne with a soft frown. Had she been sitting there in a meditative pose the entire time?

"You sure Kayura?" the girl inquired as she looked up and got to her feet; eyeing the woman carefully.

"Positive," she shook her head as she looked at Sage, noting his eyes were still closed, "Are you two bickering?"

Instead of returning Universe's witty comment with one of his own, Sage answered Kayura instead, "No, we're arguing."

"Sage, let her alone so she can finish this," Kayura moaned out, "She's able to help us, so let her." She closed her eyes, wanting nothing more than the safety of her bed at this moment.

_'You should get her to the Elemental's room,' _Sailor Universe whispered to the Ronin mentally, _'I don't think she's going to be able to stay awake much longer, I also don't think she'll be able to make it down the hall without help.'_

_'I agree, but…'_

The Scout chuckled_, 'Don't worry, Seiji. I'll be done before you make it to the room.'_

The Ronin of Wisdom gave a sigh of defeat, but warned, _'All right, but if you need help you better ask for it!'_

Sage slowly came back to awareness, and then carefully looked around himself.

This permitted his eyes to re-adjust to the dimly lit room; the moon had moved since they had first started…It was extremely late now.

He carefully stood up from the position he had been kneeling in, taking special care not to rise too fast, so as to avoid incurring a dizzy spell.

"Nii-chan?" Elayne queried curiously as she watched him, having just removed the empty package of blood. She had covered the place where the needle had been inserted into Ryo's arm with a small bandage…The transfusion was done.

He smiled at her to re-assure her that her was fine, then said to the Lady Ancient, "Come on, Kayura let me escort you to your room."

The woman opened her mouth to voice a protest, but in mid-thought changed her mind, "You're right, I'm too tired for this."

* * *

Elayne stifled a chuckle, and let out a sigh once the door closed firmly behind them; she looked around the room, double-checked its occupants and then got to her feet.

_'Elayne, what are you up to?'_ White Blaze inquired in a low whine.

"Sh, be quiet," the girl urged, walking over to the window and unlatching it, before pushing it open, "Come on."

Neo-Universe slipped into the room, a smirk adorning her features at the glowering look the tiger leveled at her, "Come come, Yaku. Don't look at me like that. My past-self can't do anything because of the seal, remember?"

_'You are __**cheating**__,'_ he huffed out, curling and uncurling his tail though his eyes shone in amusement.

"We know," Elayne chuckled, "But, if it keeps them alive does it really matter?"

_'No, I suppose not,'_ the tiger admitted, asking of the Senshi, _'What about the whole, can't be in two places at once deal?'_

"I'm secondary time guardian, Yaku," Neo-Universe responded rolling her eyes, walking over to Ryo, grasping his closed hand in hers, "I don't have that restriction. But to be honest, I'm not the same person I was almost nine-hundred-years ago."

Neo-Universe whispered something under her breath, and the Cimmerian Crystal hummed lowly in response. What Blaze's ears swerved back and forth as he identified another sound following it.

This sound greatly resembled a droplet of water falling to meet a lake below; he first tried to dismiss it as he was hearing things, but he heard it again.

Then the thickness in the air that had suddenly rose dissipated, and all sound stopped…The spell was complete, now it was just a matter of seeing whether or not the armor's connection had been reestablished.

Not even a minute later, Ryo's subarmor covered him; the Wildfire armor would finish the healing process from here on in. Elayne did her best not to whoop aloud, and she could see the Neo-Scout trying hard not to do the same.

_'That's a relief,'_ White Blaze murmured out, looking to the door, _'Halo is on his way back.'_

"I must be going then, I'll be hanging around this time for a bit. I might leave when the seal is dissolved, but not a moment before then," Neo-Universe grinned wryly, saying to the girl and tiger, "Don't let Ryo be the death of either of you, okay?"

Elayne gave a derisive snort, "Somehow, I don't think I have to worry about that." She and the Scout shared a look, and she added, "Thanks for explaining everything to me yesterday, it helped."

"Not an issue," Neo-Universe grinned, "Later!" She then leapt out the window, vanishing the moment her foot touched a shadow.

The girl quickly closed and re-latched the window, avoiding the questioning look in the tiger's eyes, saying, "This time, you _really_ _don't_ want to know."

_'Very well,'_ Blaze mumbled, curling up prepared to go back to sleep.

* * *

Elayne turned her attention from the tiger to the door after Sage walked in, his breath having come in sharply. She glanced at him curiously, eyes blinking in slight confusion.

"I guess," he murmured slowly, having been surprised at seeing Ryo in subarmor, "It worked?"

Elayne gave a nod to the affirmative, "Universe seemed pretty pleased." She struggled to fight down a yawn, but ended up losing the battle.

"Want me to guide you to your room, little miss?" He gently chided her, knowing that she had to be tired by now.

"Let me put it to you this way," the girl said, settling onto the floor, "Whether you want one or not you've got another roomie."

Sage gave a rather smug grin at this, knowing he had a chance to try and ruffle her feathers here, "Oh, I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"Hate to bring this to you," she paused a smirk on her face, "But I've seen you guys in, hm, shall we say "less than appropriate attire," before?"

Once his face fell in defeat her smirk widened, so she added "Uhuh, and lets not leave out the most recent occasion in your case. Which happens to be right now."

The poor Halo Ronin turned near crimson, struggling to get out a sentence, "I didn't…Even realize…"

Elayne was close to laughing, but she held it in, saying smugly, "Sure you didn't."

Sage hastily withdrew to the safety of his bed, yanking the covers over-top of him; trying to block out the sound of her voice.

"By the way Nii-chan," the girl drawled out, loving the fact he had made himself such an easy target for her. "You shouldn't wear such baggy clothes; you're too nicely built for that."

"Shut-up Elayne!" He hissed to her, the embarrassment clearly present in his voice. White Blaze rumbled in amusement at this, poor Halo.

"I love you too, Sage," she sniggered as she snuggled up to the tiger, who let out a purr in response to the action.

"I'd love you more if you weren't such a pain in my…"

"What have I said about swearing in my house?" She sharply inquired.

"Shut-up and go to sleep Elayne!" Sage bellowed at her. He was even more annoyed than he had been five minutes ago; if that was possible.

The girl and tiger laughed at the man's growing irritation. But in the end, Elayne decided not to provoke the irate swordsman any further. His mood was lighter than it had been, so her task was accomplished. The other three Ronin continued to sleep on completely oblivious. They truly were worn out; it _really_ would have taken a Nether Realm invasion to get them to stir.


	38. Chapter 37: The Forgotten Past

_A/N: Warning, chapter might make your head hurt; continue with caution._

**Chapter Thirty-Seven**

"**The Forgotten Past"**

* * *

Ryo let out his breath slowly, and came to a halt to assess his current situation. He had heard worried voices speaking before, felt concern and anxiousness coming from people around him…But, there was no one here just an endless forest, with no sign of life in sight.

_'But I'm fine…aren't I?' _He questioned himself,_ 'Unless…Unless I'm dreaming; which is a possibility, at this point.'_

Why had he stopped here? He had been running for what felt like hours, and all of a sudden something told him to stop, so he had. Now as he scrutinized his surroundings a wave of familiarity washed over him.

"I know this place," Wildfire's bearer whispered, "I've seen it before. That time…" His stomach gave an uneasy lurch at the thought; he wasn't particularly looking forward to seeing how he had died again. If he was correct in assuming that was what was occurring; that he was somehow seeing a memory of the past, through the eyes of an outsider, instead of a participant.

On an impulse Ryo looked skyward, noting that it was covered with thick black clouds…A dark olive green hue outlined those clouds, and off in the distance lighting flashed and thunder blared. The scent of rain hung heavily in the air, to the point where it was hard for him to breath.

Suddenly birds flew out from their perches amongst the tops of the trees, and deer came out from the thicket. They had to have been frightened by something with the way they had moved, but what?

A frown crept across the Ronin of Wildfire's features at this, and he felt as though he needed to find out the reason why. Then again, he was curious by nature, but something was pulling him in the direction that the animals had fled from.

"If my hunch is right," he mumbled to himself, finishing the sentence in his head as he returned to his run. He was hoping that his guess was way-off, and that this was just a weird dream and he'd wake up soon enough.

The sound of battle reached his ears, and Ryo gritted his teeth together, eyeing the brush ahead of him. He was unsure if he wanted to know what was on the other side; but something continued to press him forward…And he was starting to think that _something _was his armor.

* * *

Ryo prepared himself, just in case he would have to fight and then jumped into the clearing. The sight that greeted his eyes, caused his breath to leave him, and he reeled back in shock and horror.

The grass was stained red with the blood spilled from those who had been slain, the sight sickened him greatly…the Inner Senshi, the Outer Senshi and the Elementals lay dead. Further on, he could make out Anubis and the other Seasonals…And past that…

Ryo shook himself, and took a deep breath and walked forward. He had to believe this wasn't real; it would be okay if he didn't acknowledge this…This had to be a lie!

_'No lie,' _a voice whispered to him softly,_ 'Really happened.' _

The young man shot a worried look around himself, but found no one around him that could be speaking. He pulled out his armor orb, and studied it thoughtfully, noting that it was glowing.

"You're talking to me?" Ryo asked in confusion.

There was a pause, before the glow intensified and the armor responded, _'Yes.'_

"Why? Why now all of a sudden?" the Ronin Leader demanded in frustration.

_'I have been trying to talk all along. You have not been able to listen,' _the sphere dimmed for a moment, then glowed again, _'It is easier to communicate when you dream. More willing to listen then. You were hurt badly; I was separated from you, and have been returned. You need to see this, its important.'_

"Where do I go from here?" Ryo inquired softly.

_'You know that already, don't need to tell you,' _the Wildfire armor responded, before the sphere once more dimmed.

Yes… He did know; he had traveled this path before in what he considered nightmares…But they hadn't been nightmares at all, no the memories of his past were coming back to him.

* * *

He quickly walked to the next area, eyes passing over his own body before locking onto the heated fighting taking place. The one form he recognized as Sailor Universe, only because her fuku had remained unchanged. Her face was so much younger, and her hair only sported a few silver strands…She looked nothing like the Senshi he had encountered in his own time.

Her violet eyes burned in anger and pent up rage, and a small cut was across her right cheek. Dried blood caked her left arm, as well as her right leg, just below the knee-cap. Her hands were also covered in blood stains, but somehow Ryo knew it wasn't her own.

The Leader of the Ronin Warriors now regarded her opponent carefully, making sure to get every detail.

Most definitely male and far taller then the small female Senshi he fought. He towered over her by a foot-and-a-half at least. His pale ivory skin was free of blemishes, and sweat. His near-white hair was cropped short, and his eyes were some form of black….It matched his being perfectly.

The man wore some-form of protective armor, neither samurai nor crusader in style, but perhaps a mix between the two. The substance was not something readily available in this galaxy, but was made to last and withstand anything. The sword the demon wielded hummed with negative energy, and caused Ryo to shudder.

"Akemliek," the bearer of Wildfire muttered rather needlessly to himself.

"Yes, that's him," a voice commented in disgust and anger.

A lump formed in Ryo's throat, as he nervously turned his head to look at the speaker. He immediately spun around, hands at the ready, "What the…!" First his armor talking to him, and now this?

"Hey relax!" the young teenager raised his own hands, signaling he meant no harm, "'Sides, how would it look, if you fought with yourself?"

Ryo let out a shaky breath, but did not drop his guard, "Start answering questions. Who are you, and where am I?"

His double allowed a wry grin to cross his face, "Always have to get straight to the point, ne?"

The Ronin of Wildfire leveled a glare at the boy, showing he wasn't in the least bit amused.

"Umm…right…" the person that could have been his twin let out a nervous chuckle. "I'm you… In all reality I'm the part of you that remembers everything that has happened; the part that the elders have to give back."

"Why do they have to give them back?" He inquired with a raised eyebrow.

The teen shrugged his shoulders, "Don't look at me, that's just the way it works. Now, you are here," He motioned to the surrounding area, "Because one of two things happened. 'A' number one, they decided to let you have your memory. Or, 'A' number two: you came extremely close to death, and have managed to get here."

"Here being one of the furthest recesses of my subconscious mind, huh?" Ryo inquired, shaking his head slightly when he got a nod. "Wildfire said it was easier to talk to me while I was dreaming; but I'm not really dreaming, am I? I'm in a coma."

"It's talking to you already? Wow," the boy got over his awe, "Ya, you pretty much summed it up. This is one of my least favorite memories, but I guess the armor feels it's necessary to show you this."

The younger version of himself grimaced, and then vied for a change in topic, "I'm taking it you almost got yourself killed?"

"It's a daily occurrence," Ryo flatly stated, and then took a look around him, voicing quietly having noticed that they were not alone. "Are they…?"

"They can't hear or see us, like I said, it's just a memory. But yeah, those are our spirits, we didn't leave after we…umm…well…" It was the younger Wildfire's turn to let out a nervous breath, "The Senshi had already moved on, but we refused to; guilt kept us waiting around I guess. Anyway, since you're here, I guess there's no harm in letting you see what occurs. Question is do you want to?"

Ryo blinked in surprise, he hadn't realized that the scene had frozen; he let his eyes close a few minutes, and then re-opened them having made up his mind; "Yeah, I need to see what happens."

* * *

The Ronin of Wildfire could see it in Akemliek's eyes, and that sent the man's blood to boiling. The demon was enjoying every minute of torturing an already battered and broken opponent. The sword he wielded almost clipped the young Senshi in the side, but she pulled back, twirled around, and gave the demon a kick to the jaw.

Akemliek rubbed the sore spot a minute or two, letting out a small laugh, "Such a pity. You fight almost as well as they did," He motioned to the corpses, watching in delight as her eyes flashed brightly in even more anger, "You and I are getting too old for this, wouldn't you say, Universe?"

She growled lowly, but said nothing in return; she kept her eyes glued to her opponent, waiting for his next move. She could tell he was stalling; the foul monster was up to no good…As if that was unusual.

"Breaks your fragile human heart, doesn't it? Growing up with them, training with them, becoming as close as a family with some, and then they go and betray you each time…" A cruel smile wove its way upon his face, "They always think that they are ready, and they never truly are. So, what kept you from saving them this time? The Senshi didn't go and knock you out again, did they?"

Not a trace of emotion showed on her face, nothing to even suggest that she had heard a word he'd said; Ryo was surprised she could hide her feelings that well...She hadn't struck him as being like that.

"No," She whispered in a voice hard and cold; remembering that time all too well.

"Ah, I know now," He let out a sardonic chuckle, openly mocking the young girl, "The Great Council had you thrown into the dungeon, so you couldn't interfere."

A single tear graced its way down her cheek, as she tightened the hold on her blade, knowing his final strike would come soon. She turned her gaze skyward for a minute, trying to will away the onslaught of tears that were not far from occurring. As she did so the rain once more started to fall, soon drenching the remnants of the battlefield.

"Poor thing," He murmured, pityingly, eyes never leaving her, "You truly didn't deserve that. All you wanted was to keep them safe…But the Council only allows you room to fail. Don't they?"

She didn't move; she looked so small and helpless compared to him…It seemed that his one try at coaxing had caused her to stall.

It surprised Ryo in the way Akemliek had suddenly changed tactics, a thought came to his mind, "How long has this been going on?"

"The fight between them, and at this point in time? A good two hours, two and a half maybe."

"It explains the sweet talk," he mumbled out, before he went back to watching.

"No need to answer; we both accept that it's true. You know…" Akemliek took a step towards her now, lowering the sword slightly, voice softer than the last time, "I would never treat you that way, if you were under my service. Your opinion would be honored for what it is, a blessed and sacred gift."

He paused a brief moment, evaluating the effects his speech was having; still no sign of emotion on her face. He continued on carefully, "I have never underestimated you before, Lady Universe, I would not start."

"Would not it be nice for a change, for you to be treated like that which you are? Not like some worthless servant girl, or helpless weakling? I am willing to give you the recognition you deserve and more…All I ask in return is that you fight alongside me, instead of against."

Universe continued to stare at him, and he took that as a sign that she wanted for him to continue.

"My dear child, this is not for you," He stopped his walk towards her, being just outside her sword's reach, "What is the point in fighting to defend them, when the Great Council will not allow you to? None of those whom you protect care for you a great deal, as it is."

Akemliek paused again, "Why some even harbor bitter resentment towards you, just because you fight alone. You are not one of them, my lady, but so much more! Think about what I offer you, Universe, I implore you. You cannot last much longer fighting like this, nor can I for that matter."

The Scout let out a dour chuckle, "Do you wish to know my decision, now?"

"That I would."

"Take your offer," Sailor Universe hissed out, "And go to **_hell_**!"

* * *

The girl cast the sword aside, letting it fall uselessly to the ground. She ripped out a dagger she kept hidden in her boot and sliced into her wrists. Once that was done she tossed the dagger at Akemliek, throwing it over his shoulder, it embedded itself into the trunk of a tree.

"You can't be serious!" He roared in surprise, finding himself unable to move, "They forbade you from sealing me. You cannot do this."

"I'm doing it anyway," she retorted, breathing heavily as her hands moved and formed the seals, "I don't care about me anymore. I'm willing to do anything and everything to keep them safe. I'm not going to let you kill them again, Akemliek. I refuse to be idle, and will not let them die for nothing!"

Akemliek gave a snort, as he tried to force dark magic to disrupt the seal…But to his surprise, it was bounced back at him as the armors appeared…Forming a nine-pointed star around him; the Inferno Armor was standing next the Sailor Senshi as if watching what she was doing.

"You're helping me?" she asked in amusement, sweat pouring from her brow the crystal around her neck pulsing with an unnatural light and energy.

_'Yes,' _the Korin armor responded,_ 'You helped our bearers.'_

_'So we help you in return,' _Kongo brought in.

Tenku gave a nod, and added,_ 'He is threat to all realms, including ours. You cannot complete the seal without our energy.'_

_'We will lend you our powers,' _Suiko commented softly,_ 'Just watch out for our bearers in the next lifetime to come.'_

"You know I will," Universe answered calmly; "You need not even ask that."

Rekka gave a light chuckle,_ 'We know, we just don't like forcing ideas on you.'_

"And what of you?" she scrutinized the armor next to her, eyeing it warily.

Kikoutei was silent for some moments, _'Will help, I have reason to exist in this realm. Many opponents here to fight.'_

"Very well," Universe murmured closing her eyes she tore the jewel from her neck, holding it in front of her. A moment later a blinding light swept through the clearing, and was gone just as quickly. Akemliek was gone, and the armors remained where they were standing for but a moment before fading.

It was over, finally; she collapsed to her knees, tears mixing in with the slow and steady rain. Her body had been greatly weakened from the strain, not able to cope with all the pressure she had put it under.

"Please," Touma murmured pleadingly, "Don't blame yourself for this. You tried to stop it."

"It was just our time to leave," Seiji whispered, his eyes filled with sadness.

Naaza gave a grimace, "We didn't want to listen, but we should have."

"You think?" Rajura snorted out, rolling his eyes, "We'd probably still be alive if we weren't so stubborn."

Anubisu was shooting the man a dark look, "Speak for yourself."

"This sucks," Shuu complained loudly, "I wish you could actually hear us. We don't blame this on you, Uni."

The Scout let out a chuckle, a slight smile coming to her lips, "I am many things, Kongo. Deaf does not happen to be one of them. I can't believe your still lingering here."

"Had to watch you and make sure you got in a few hits for us, that's all," Shin cheerfully quipped. "The Senshi beat a hasty retreat, but you know us."

"Thick-headed," the bearer of Tenku snorted, "Unreachable, unintelligent, nosey people.

"You're right, you are all those things," Shuten commented with a snigger, ducking the punch Touma launched at him.

The Scout of the Universe let out a groan, "You're dead and still carry-on like usual; never ceases to amaze me."

"Go to love us right?" Naaza brightly queried.

"Not commenting," she grumbled gradually getting to her feet, only to have her legs give out. She gasped and prepared to hit the ground, but White Blaze had braced himself against her.

"Thanks boy," She breathed a sigh of relief, and waited a few minutes to regain her composure, what little of it she had left.

He gave a low rumble in response, and purred deeply eyeing the black tiger coming from the other end of the clearing with a smirk. Black Blaze let out a growl, but did nothing further than that.

"Where's Kayura?" Touma suddenly asked, "I have not seen her."

"She was slain with the other Seasonal Senshi," Universe sighed out, "That is why she was not with you. Otherwise, she would have been here…Akemliek took them by surprise…" Her voice trailed off, and she shook herself.

"I'm losing myself, forgive me," the Scout eyed the men before her carefully, "This stage in your journeys is over, and therefore must begin anew."

"How many of these lives do we have to go through?" Anubisu grumbled.

"As many as it takes," Seiji commented coolly, "Until we get it right."

"That could take a while," Shuu snorted out, wincing after Rajura nudged him in the ribs.

"Look," Universe shoved the stubborn strands of hair obscuring her vision aside, "I didn't make these rules the Great Council did, and each of you accepted them. I keep the warriors alive so they can defeat Akemliek; if you can't kill him before he kills you, it starts again. However, even the Great Council's rules have limitations. This start over, will be the last I fear…I also fear that Akemliek's demise rests in your hands."

"Why do you fear this?" Shuten inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Physically, and mentally, I don't think I could live through another one of these fights," She looked at them offering a small smile, "And, he was losing to you. Your inner strength is what will be needed to defeat him. I refuse to let this happen again, you will not continue to suffer like this."

"You can't, the Great Council," Seiji began in protest, concern for her safety present in his voice.

She held up a hand to silence him, the Cimmerian crystal began to hum and glow, "Will no longer be an issue. I have the least amount of power in it, normally…But not if I acknowledge who I am. I will do that, and call their ways into question. I will force them to disband."

"Have you gone mad?" Shin was aghast, "Do you realize…"

"Enough," Universe commanded in a stern tone, before saying quietly, "You can't keep going through your lives like this; it isn't fair. It's just going to end up destroying you, and I won't stand for that."

"All right," Shuu relented with a sigh, saying, "I just hope you know what you're doing."

"Till the next time, then?" queried Touma.

Universe gave a slight nod, and let her eyes linger on the one person that had not spoken at all, '_You're awfully quiet, Rekka-kun.'_

He shifted nervously, _'I guess…I'm just trying to come to terms with this. Uni, what happens if we don't come across each other? Or you for that matter?'_

She chuckled obviously amused at his worries, _'That won't happen; I'll see to it that everything turns out all right. Don't worry about looking for me Ryo, I'll find you. Wherever there's trouble, I'm sure you'll be in the midst of the mess.'_

He chuckled slightly, _'Yeah, you'll probably have to bail my ninja-hide out, as usual.'_

_'It's not my fault you always get in over your head,' _Universe gave one last look over the warriors, "Look after each other, and don't a one of you dare think about changing the way you are."

The crystal continued it's humming, but now the light it emanated remained steady, everyone was silent upon seeing that, all knew what it meant.

"Until our next meeting, I bid thee all farewell," the Senshi whispered voice breaking, before a blinding light swallowed the clearing whole.

* * *

"You know, you can open your eyes now."

Ryo opened his right eye slightly, and then opened them both once assuring himself it was safe. "Dare I ask what that was?"

"The Cimmerian Crystal's power, some of it anyway. Supposedly it has the ability to do anything the other three crystals can do. One of those nifty 'do-it-all-in-one' type artifacts, but only works if the planets and elements are in alignment with one another. Er, meaning if we're not working together it can't use its full power."

"Oh," Ryo took a good look around him now, noting that they were standing in front of a large castle-like structure, "What am I supposed to do now? And is there something I can call you by? Cause um…"

"Yeah this is a little weird, I share your pain. I thought I was going insane when it happened."

Ryo looked at his twin in confusion, causing the young teen to chuckle, "What you saw was the second fight; I'm from the second lifetime. Meaning each of us had to go through this before, so we knew what we were dealing with then. And you can call me Rekka, for lack of a better name."

He snorted a laugh, "You mean lack of creativity to come up with another one."

"Something like that," Rekka shrugged, shaking his head with a smile, "I have no clue what we're supposed to do now."

"We?"

Rekka gave a nod to this, "Yeah, we are the same person, just from different lives. Or that's how it was explained to me."

"Lousy explanation; some hard concrete answers would be nice."

"Don't hold your breath. The Great Council and the elders never give straight answers or solutions for anything," Rekka rolled his eyes, "Ever."

"So I've learned," the Ronin Leader grumbled in complaint, pausing to inquire, "What is this place?"

"Home after our kingdoms got torched," Rekka commented, an underlying note of bitterness there.

"What?" Ryo was frowning thoughtfully; this castle was sitting in a spot that was vaguely familiar to him. But he couldn't for the life of him remember why he knew the place.

Rekka grimaced again, as he walked into the ancient structure, "I'd rather not get into that right now. If you get your memories back, then you don't need to ask. If you don't, ask Uni she'll explain."

"Love to," Ryo commented dryly, "But, I've only seen her once. She's been watching from the shadows this time around. The Elders said she was dead, but she's been helping out behind the scenes."

Rekka dropped his head, and closed his eyes tightly; a small grin crossed his face, "Trying not to interfere, but doing it anyway. She hasn't changed."

"You two were close, weren't you?" Ryo chuckled at the dark look he got in response to that, "I'm just saying it, because you seem like you know her _**well**_."

"We didn't start out friends, I hated her," Rekka finally walked into the room he'd been looking for, pulled out a chair and sat down. He clasped his hands together, saying, "In truth, I hated everybody."

"Why?" Ryo's eyes scanned the room, it was a large library. Books lined ancient mahogany shelves, and several artifacts ordained the walls, and suddenly it clicked into place. The Shinwako mansion, rested where this castle used to sit…The objects and ancient artifacts here were resting in the Shinwako's library!

The Wildfire Ronin finally turned his attention back to his younger self, noticing the grim-look on his face. He sat down opposite the teen, and prodded, "Bad, huh?"

"Yeah," Rekka was scowling, "I lost everything and everyone…Then got stuck here; there's more to it than that, but I'll condense. I couldn't get along with the other Troopers, didn't want to. I blamed Universe for what happened…And because I was so angry, Kikoutei used that against me."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair, "It turned me into a very cruel person, and I wasn't any the wiser for it. The others did not know that either, we barely knew one another before I got stuck here permanently…They figured that was the real me. But she knew, somehow Universe knew."

"Oh, she got you out of it?" Ryo inquired with an arched eyebrow.

Rekka burst out laughing, "Ah, no not quite. See, I was so bad that I grated on calm-sophisticated Seiji's nerves." He stopped laughing, and got out a chuckle, "And one day, he 'courteously' beat some sense into me after I went too far. That was my first wake-up call. Then Universe got the fight to stop, and I said something smart and she responded by breaking my nose."

"Oh boy," Ryo sputtered out, "I can't believe I did that. How stupid; take on Seiji and her? Brilliant. White Armor, or no White Armor Sage alone could kill me, and I'm sure she could too…But the both of them?"

"She had inquired if I wanted to die, because I was more than asking for it," he admitted with a sheepish grin. "After I got back to being my usual self? Yes, we were close; she was much closer to Seiji though they just understood each other so much better. Oh, and Shuu absolutely adored her. Shin and Touma were always friendly towards her, but never anything more than that."

_'That sounds familiar,'_ Ryo thought with a frown, before inquiring, "Any idea how long I'm going to be stuck here like this?"

"No clue to be honest," Rekka admitted, "It may seem like a short span of time, but you could have been out for days by now."

"I have to wake up," He murmured, running a hand through his thick-black hair and getting to his feet, "The guys are worried and upset, I can feel it here."

"It's not that easy," the teen quietly stated, "By all rights, you shouldn't even be here. Now that you are here, and ahead of time, it won't be that easy to leave."

"But there's a way out of this, isn't there?" Wildfire's bearer urged.

"You'd have to accept your past lives," the teen sighed, "If you're not ready, it can be extremely painful. In your current state there's no telling what the damage would do to you."

It was an answer, but he needed to know the how so he pressed further, "The armor wouldn't have led me here unless it felt I was ready."

"True," Rekka admitted, "I wouldn't mind knowing what it's up to. Normally the armors don't interfere like this. But, I guess they're tired of this as much as the rest of us."

The teen sighed once more and asked, "There's no way to convince you not to do this, is there?"

Ryo shook his head, a fierce light sparking in his eyes, "No, no way at all."

"I figured quite as much," Rekka now got to his feet, "I happen to think the stubbornness grows with each passing lifetime."

"I'm not being stubborn, I'm just determined, that's all."

Rekka arched his eyebrows at this, "What's the difference?"

"'Determined' sounds better," the Ronin Leader grinned, and then became serious once more, "Let's get this over with."

"All right, but you were warned. Another thing, you mustn't let the others' know that you are aware of your former life. It could be disastrous."

"Don't worry. I doubt they would believe me even if I told them."

Rekka gave a slight nod, "All you have to do, is call the armor, and it'll do the rest."

"I enjoyed our talk, just glad I won't have to do it again. Talking with yourself, isn't usually viewed as a sign of sanity."

"Do you ever stop with that dry sense of humor?" Rekka inquired.

"Nah, I doubt I do. You should really ask yourself that question; so do I?"

Rekka scowled, "Not in the three millennia I was around for."

"Ouch," Ryo slightly winced, and then grinned "I'm getting on your last nerve, ne? So that means my patience level was shorter…Hmm."

"Ryo…" Rekka narrowed his eyes, "The longer you take to do this, the lesser the chance you have at succeeding."

"All right, all right, I just hope it works for both our sakes," Ryo permitted his breathing to slow, settling in to the all-too familiar stance, his eyes had been closed, and now snapped open, "Armor of Wildfire!"

_A/N: Hopefully, you're reading this which means your brain did not explode during reading this chapter. And again we are left to wonder...Does Ryo survive?_

_cue eerie music_


	39. Chapter 38: Wildfire's Surprise

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* * *

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A/N: Well folks, here is the second to last update for your viewing pleasure.; you get Chapter 38 and 39; 40 will be posted later. Hard for me to believe that after five years of gruelling work, TGOL the series is almost completely done, and that Book One is up on ffnet in almost all it's entirety. I wish to thank all of those who read this story, and an extra special thanks to those who find the time to review. I'm glad to know that the story is liked and appreciated. Be on the lookout for "Wait and See" a Masho/Warlord fic that ties into the TGOL universe, and takes place before Book One (much like "The Storm's Weathered" does).

-LG

**Chapter Thirty-Eight**

**Wildfire's Surprise**

The young man's next breath came in sharply, as his eyes flew open. He had to blink several times, before he could clearly see. He turned his head to glance in the direction of his nightstand to check and see what time it was: 8:30 a.m.

Ryo now carefully sat up in his bed, not failing to notice the fact that he was in subarmor. His brows furrowed, a frown crossing his face; why had that happened? The answer came from Wildfire, a soft brush of fire against his senses. It had wanted to heal the wound properly, and keep him safe.

He gave a slight smile at this, before willing it off the crystal sphere that contained it rested lightly in his palm. Ryo let his eyes slip shut for a brief moment, before re-opening them. He was nowhere near as stiff and sore as he should have been, that was probably because of Wildfire though.

The Ronin glanced at the clock again to make sure he had read it right, yes it was morning. Most likely his friends were downstairs eating breakfast; of course he was slightly surprised when he peered over the edge of his bed to find he wasn't alone in the room.

"White Blaze?" He inquired, voice somewhat strained…His throat felt a tad dry as well.

The tiger had been lightly dozing, since the earlier happenings, upon hearing the familiar voice; he immediately got to his feet, and padded over.

Ryo relaxed a little, and stroked his friend thoughtfully, "At least I'm not dreaming, ne?"

White Blaze let out a low whine, nudging against Ryo's hand, _'You had me worried, Rekka-cub.'_

"Ya I bet I did," he admitted with a small grin, watching in satisfaction as the tiger's eyes widened.

_'You remember then,_' the cat thoughtfully stated after a few moments of pondering it over, _'If you can understand me word for word…'_

"Miss me much?" Ryo teased gently, nodding, "Ya, but this is our secret, kay?"

_'Not a problem with me Rekka-cub, just don't do anything that will put you back into a coma,' _White Blaze snorted out, _'Oh, you might want to wake An up.'_

Ryo sighed and gave a slight nod in agreement, "Yo, Layne!"

* * *

"I swear if you four don't give it a rest…" a frown came across her face, that voice… "Hey wait a minute!" Her eyes opened with a snap, as she looked up at the person peering at her. "You're awake!"

He chuckled at her reaction, "Mhm."

She let out a long sigh, "It's about time! I was two seconds away from putting them in comas, so they could join you, and leave me alone."

"Were they that bad?" Ryo was clearly amused by this prospect; all the things he managed to miss when he was out, it just wasn't fair.

The girl avidly nodded, as she got to her feet and brushed herself off. She straightened out her hair the best she could, and responded with, "When they weren't: moping, blaming themselves for this mess, and accusing me of withholding ways to help…They were teasing me, and quite relentlessly might I add."

"About what?" Ryo leaned back into the bed only mildly curious.

"I've been sharing the floor with White Blaze, for the past three nights."

"Aw geez," the Ronin Leader ran a hand over his face, "I've been out that long?"

"Yeah," she stretched slightly, "Somewhere along the lines of sixty-three hours. The hospital put me back on medical leave, cause of a fever so I'm here. Wanted to make sure you remained stable, and that the guys actually ate and slept. Regardless, they've been poking fun at me, which is okay; I have plenty to poke back with. Hungry?"

"Actually, I'm not," He admitted with a loose shrug, "Guess the armor took care of that. I am thirsty though. So, do I ask exactly what happened after I passed out?"

"Hang on; I'll get you a glass of water. Sore or anything?"

"No, I'm fine," Ryo reassured watching her disappear into the bathroom.

"Kay," She re-emerged with a glass of water in her hand, "Here you go, don't drink it too fast. Kento got you here, I asked Yayoi to help me give you a blood transfusion…Kayura and Sage ended up fixing the separation issue you had with Wildfire…Rowen and Cye were unbelievably irate during the whole period. Sage was really moping, and good ole Kento was the only one capable of thinking rationally."

She put a finger to her chin in thought, "Oh, and the Inner and Outer Senshi were informed. Serena-tachi got here last night; Trista-tachi should be here later."

* * *

Ryo finished drinking, put the glass aside, and went back to stroking White Blaze, "You looked surprised to see me awake."

She sighed and offered a waning smile, "Ryo, you lost a lot of blood. You should have been dead. I thought you'd make it, but I didn't think you'd wake up this soon."

"You're leaving something out," he ridiculed her, eyeing her with a suspicious frown; "You got into a fight with the guys, didn't you?"

She gave a nervous laugh, "You know me, I get more defensive than usual when I don't feel well. It wasn't pretty. They were hounding me about your outlook, and so on. Well, I made some smart comments about how they weren't legal next of kin and that I could get sued for breach of contract if I said too much."

Ryo had a pained look on his face now, "It didn't end there did it?"

"No…" She gave a sheepish grin, "Rowen tried to snap at me that they were just concerned about you. That was the jest of it, or I think at least, really couldn't tell with as loud as he was. Anyway I told him that if they cared so much, they'd get off my case and let me do my job, without making me feel like I was responsible for your current condition, when I wasn't even in the area when it happened! Then Sage tried to start on me, and I wouldn't have it."

"You didn't, aww man; Elayne!" Ryo sank back onto his pillows, covering his face with his hands, "I don't believe this."

"Hey, just be glad I gave you the 'G' rated version. They got the PG-13, because the little ones weren't here. That was yesterday afternoon; Sage and Rowen are still a little pissed at me, but I don't give a care. Try to put me on trail, I won't plead the Fifth."

"Huh?" Ryo blinked several times in confusion.

"Never mind. Kento and Cye weren't really mad at me, and they were pretty close to laughter after I tore into Sage and Rowen like I did. Poor Kento, he could barely keep his face straight; and Cye? He had to leave the room, when I started in on Sage, he just couldn't take it; hiding his grin behind his hand was not working at that point."

Ryo chuckled, torn between wanting to scold her and being amused at the situation. "I bet they didn't expect that from you."

"Oh please," She waved her hand dismissively, "Rowen and I used to argue and fight all the time. He's used to my smart-mouth, so is Sage. Only, Nii-chan's never had it used on him before. There's a first time for everything."

"Who'd you mouth off too?"

"Yayoi," she answered calmly, "Who left just before the Inner Senshi arrived, thus Sage was spared from her teasing him even more. Back when we were little, nobody would mouth off to Yayoi. I did, someone had to protect Sage from her. She was so bad, that I thought she was from the Dynasty," Elayne wrinkled her nose.

Ryo gave a yawn, "Anything else happen?"

"You're asking the wrong person. I only know if something is up, if someone's been near-fatally injured," Elayne sarcastically bit out, before saying, "Kayura has had the Seasonals patrolling the grounds, twice every other hour. She's also recommended, from my hinting at it, that they steer clear of their rivals until further notice. All we needed was for the eight of them to go at it."

She shook her head, "I truly do pity you and Anubis. How you two ever managed to avoid that from happening from the start, is beyond me. I suspect you're just unconditionally lucky."

"Oh yeah, real lucky," Ryo snorted back a laugh, "I almost got killed the other night."

"From what I've heard? You've "almost" died more times than the guys are willing to count, and more times than the Seasonals and Kayura can actually count. In fact the reason Sage and Rowen calmed down was because I pointed out that you have this natural ability to avoid death."

Ryo slightly chuckled, "Oh natural ability? Is that what you call it?"

"Natural ability or dumb luck; take your pick." She grinned, slightly.

He paused a moment, "Where are they, anyway?"

"Hmm, oh? Well if breakfast is done, they usually wait till I come to get them before we switch. They think you need to be 'guarded.' I've tried to explain to them, that a comatose person can't physically get up and walk away, it hasn't seemed to register."

A thought came to Ryo's mind upon her finishing speaking; a devious one. "Exactly how mad are Sage and Rowen still?"

"Sore, because I wounded their great warrior pride," Elayne said with a grin, "Nothing more, nothing less; we pretty much apologized an hour after the fireworks. Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering if you would like go and get them," Ryo allowed himself a smirk, "If you get my meaning."

She smiled back understanding his intentions right away, "Oh I get your meaning, but remember this was _your_ idea."

"Yeah, they'll probably put me back into a coma for it."

"Not with my luck," She then flashed him an innocent smile, "Oops, did I say that out loud?"

Ryo responded with nastiest glare he could muster, to this White Blaze gave a snort of amusement.

Elayne laughed lightly, before showing an uncharacteristic display of affection by throwing her arms around him. Ryo blinked slightly, hadn't she done this back in the restaurant after she slapped him? Well, at least she hadn't tried glomping him yet…That'd probably come later.

"You scared me half-to-death," she whispered quietly, before pulling away, "I'm glad you're okay." She then left the room.

"Ugh, why does she have to be the most confusing person on this planet?" Ryo demanded of no one in particular, "It's like she goes out of her way to make no sense."

White Blaze roared in laughter, but did not say what he was so close to getting out…The white tiger knew for a fact that Ryo wasn't that much better.

* * *

Cye continued to converse with Rowen in a low hushed tone, not wishing to gather unwanted attention. "Look Ro, we've done everything we can. There's nothing we can do."

"There has to be something Cye," the Strata Ronin growled back, "Something she doesn't want to tell us."

"If she doesn't want to tell us, it's because it may end up getting us harmed too. Did you ever stop to think about that?" The Warrior of Trust crossed his arms in front of his chest, leveling a glare at the blue-haired archer, "I didn't think so, look Rowen we're all concerned, but you need to let this be."

"Cye is right," Sage now took his eyes off the Elemental Senshi who were going through one of their daily practice routines.

He tilted his head, allowing both violet eyes to gaze at his two friends, "Kayura would've told us if she knew anything, as long as it wouldn't have caused us serious harm. I think she has said all she knows."

Rowen huffed in irritation, quickly asking, "Then what about Elayne? If she knew anything, would she tell us?"

"A little harm, she might be willing to get away with, which I doubt, but you can never tell with Elayne," Kento commented, saying, "However, if it would have put us in the same condition…"

"Either way, I wouldn't have allowed you to do a thing," the person in question spoke up, sticking her head out the door to regard them each with a careful frown, "First and foremost, you guys are my family, secondly, I'm…"

"A nurse practitioner and that would violate your own code of conduct. We know, we know," Kento rolled his eyes, though it was in amusement, "You've only been drilling _THAT_ into our heads for the past several months."

Elayne slightly smirked, "'_Trying_' to drill it into your heads, Kento. You guys are the most stubborn people on the planet, not even Amara can contend with you."

"Oh wasn't that a nice compliment? We love you too," the blue-haired archer stuck his tongue out at her.

"How old are you? Twenty-three going on four?" She teased, laughing in glee at the annoyed look on his face.

Rowen glared at her, "One of these days, I'm just gonna let you have it."

"Oh I can take it, but I don't think you could."

"Can you two stop? This sounds wrong," the Halo Ronin pleaded, slightly embarrassed with both their behaviors.

Elayne and Rowen both exchanged looks and then burst out laughing, finally getting the implications in their bickering. Cye shook his head, and Kento sighed through his nose.

"Poor you Sage, ending up with lunatics like us," Rowen chuckled, "If your Grandfather knew the company you kept."

Elayne couldn't help but snigger, "Grandfather Date already knows a good deal of us; can you imagine the look on his face if he saw all the others? To find that more than half of them are female, he'd be demanding why Sage hasn't hooked up with one of them yet to "carry on the great Date line"."

The blond swordsman rolled his eyes and got to his feet, cheeks burning in embarrassment. The girl was right in what she said, but he wasn't going to give her that pleasure; "Why don't you two give it a rest?"

"What fun would that be?" They both inquired.

"Just my luck," Sage muttered under his breath; though he failed to hide the smile on his face.

Rowen sniggered a bit, but soon became solemn faced again. Elayne frowned at this; she didn't like it when Strata's bearer got like this. It just didn't suit him to be this way. She fell into step next to him and then somehow or another got him into a head-lock.

"Elayne!" he yelped struggling in her grip; since when did she get that strong? Granted, he had let her pull him down part way, but not like this!

"You're such a twig, Ro, get some weight on would you?" she scoffed at him, running her knuckles against his hair, "Also, stop being such a frump. Everything's going to be fine, leave the brooding to Seiji-nii-chan. Eep!"

She released Rowen trying to avoid the retaliation for the comment, only to get pulled into a bear-hug/body-hold from behind courtesy of Sage.

He chuckled deep in his throat, "That's my job, is it?"

"Mhm," Elayne said with a grin, turning up to look at him, "That and the official eye-candy. According to Serena-tachi anyway."

Sage let go of her, probably due to shock more than anything else. Rowen barked out a laugh at his friend's face, and Elayne did her best to keep her composure by walking ahead to be up by Cye and Kento. Once there, all three cracked up managing to regain themselves by the time the other two caught up.

* * *

After reaching the stairwell, they spoke relatively little, allowing the silence of the now vacant house to swallow them whole. The Elemental and Inner Senshi were taking turns having training sessions and the Outer were not due back for another two hours.

The Seasonals were most likely out on patrol, and if not they were in the safety of their "spot" in the house…The basement which the Elementals had said the older warriors could use to their hearts content. Now whether or not the Ronins were aware...Well, they probably didn't know. They had tried to deal with their former enemies as little as possible as of late, with the mounting tension they could hardly be blamed for that.

The four young men had done nothing more in the past three days then try to sleep, eat some, and worry…And pace. There had been a lot of pacing, so much so that White Blaze had actually snapped his jaws in annoyance at the Ronins a couple of times.

Their concerns were for the well-being of their leader. Not a one of them was comfortable with this having happened, and having a life hang in the balance…Especially his. It wasn't something a normal person could perceive or understand; the bond between the five of them was unique. They had been to the pits of hell and back, they had bled and cried…And they had also come to the brink of death; they had done it together, the five of them.

Elayne watched the four silent young men with a slight sigh, idly wondering how many times during the war with Talpa they had been through this. She had heard stories, of course…After all, she'd become a shoulder for them to lean on, one of the reasons she was placed into the time; to better help them deal with things. Neo-Universe was rather obsessed with buffering her charges from harm, not that the girl could blame her any.

But this hurt was a new one, they had come close to losing Ryo many times, yet it had always been in a moment where things happened too fast for questions and answers. This time, it was slow and painful and it was starting to weigh them down.

When Cye spoke more or less breaking the unofficial vow of silence, she wasn't surprised at what he said.

"No matter how old we are, no matter who the enemy is, the objective is always the same."

"Yeah, make sure we suffer as much as possible," Sage muttered out, a scowl on his face, "It's starting to get old, now."

"Agreed, but like someone pointed out, there was nothing we could have done."

"Don't get smart Rowen," Kento narrowed his eyes in warning, "The last thing we need is for you to mouth off."

"Hold it, all of you," Elayne tossed over her shoulder, "I am not breaking up another one of your fights. So kindly save it till I am out of earshot, please?"

That was another thing, the four of them had been bickering like this constantly…Now it was to the point it was at an hourly basis. Even with all the patience she had been taught to have, the girl was getting annoyed. She suspected that part of the problem was the armors causing their bearers to overreact, but she wouldn't hold out for the verdict in that case.

The young men behind her quieted, offering apologetic glances to one another before turning their attention back to their walk.

"Grazie, signori."

"Layne?" Rowen frowned, confusion clearly written on his face.

"Sì?" She turned and looked at him, before realization hit her, "Oops, sorry! I said, 'Thank you, gentlemen.'"

"In Italian, just to annoy us? How very nice of you, Layne," Kento said in a teasing tone.

The girl stuck her tongue out at the Ronin of Hardrock, but said nothing in return…Though there were a handful of insults resting on the tip of her tongue. She decided to be nice, because they were going to be in for a big surprise…This would be good.

* * *

Sage rolled his violet eyes heavenward, hand resting on the door knob; he gave a look to Cye, inquiring, _'Will they ever grow up?'_

The Water Ronin gave a shrug of his shoulders, _'Why are you asking me?'_

"What are you waiting for, an invite?" Elayne shot to the two, having picked up their conversation.

Sage winced a little; her voice went from soft to piercing amazingly fast sometimes, "No, I'm not."

He entered the room, his eyes widening in shock. He scanned it completely, the windows were closed, curtains drawn…Their four beds were made, but Ryo's was empty. The only living thing in the room appeared to be White Blaze, who was sleeping soundly…Actually, he was merely pretending, biding his time.

Cye blinked several times, "Where is he?"

Kento's jaw sagged, but he quickly recovered, demanding, "Whatever happened to 'comatose people can't get up and walk away'?"

The four young men spun on a dime, to glare at her, suddenly doubting her professional skills.

Elayne kept a straight face, saying coolly, "They don't. Either someone moves them,"

Rowen's face fell, was she implying that their leader had been kidnapped?

"Or, we wake up and move ourselves," Ryo cheerfully finished from behind them.

"Ah! RYO!"

That shout was enough to shake the house, and Elayne was rather impressed at how high the four of them jumped. She was also amused that they turned back around just as quickly to stare in disbelief at their leader.

He was still pale, it would perhaps take a day or two more for his color to return fully…His eyes were only slightly dull, but the spark of mischief therein was a form of reassurance for them.

Ryo's shoulders quaked, and he tossed back his head and laughed, "Sorry! Couldn't resist the chance to do that."

"Jerk!" Kento hissed out, a broad grin on his face, as he pulled his leader into the ultimate head-lock, "Don't you scare me like that ever again, buddy do you hear me?"

"Okay, okay," the Ronin of Wildfire continued to laugh, even harder when the Ronin of Trust proceeded to noogie him while Hardrock kept him pinned.

Cye had a smile on his face as he said, "I swear Ryo, you're going to give me my mother's heart condition."

The Ronin of Strata snorted at this, "Not with our luck, yike!" He side-stepped the Torrent Ronin, and dove behind Kento…In the ensuing confusion Ryo got loose from Hardrock's bearer, only to get snagged by Rowen.

"Human shield, very brave of you Rowen," Wildfire's bearer chortled, and leaned against Strata for support. He'd been out for near to three days, and probably shouldn't be walking at all. Yet, even though his armor had been drained completely, somehow the young man had the strength to stand and move around though it wasn't much.

Rowen laughed lightly, a load of worries now off his troubled mind. Ryo was awake, and safe…For now, it looked like everything was going to be okay.

"Ya," the Ronin of Air nodded, "It's a good tactic though. Give me some credit, here."

Cye chuckled in amusement, "Heaven forbid if we don't."

The Wildfire Ronin studied his friends' happy faces, and finally his gaze settled onto the one person in the room that had not spoken. Pale violet eyes looked back at Ryo; the blond hair that normally covered the one was moved due to the angle Sage had his head at. The others quieted and also looked to the blonde swordsman as if waiting for him to finally comment.

Sage's lips twitched up into a smile, as he coolly remarked, "Nice of you to rejoin us, Ryo."

The Ronin Leader gave a small grin in response to the statement, not surprised that even after all this time Halo's bearer continued to hold back his emotions from them.

Kento sighed heavily through his nose, as if exasperated with the man's behavior. In a way he was, one would think that after all this time Sage would have tried to loosen up, if only a little.

"I don't care if you have issues with touching people," the Warrior of Strength latched onto the blond swordsman's arm, "Get over it, and get over here with the rest of us." And with one firm pull Sage was stuck in the midst of his four crazy friends.

"If you can spar and brawl with us," Cye stated with a grin, "You can share a man hug."

Ryo chortled, his eyes lit up in mirth, "Sage, I'm crushed. Don't you love me?"

* * *

The Ronin of Halo seemed to freeze in place, and the room went _dead_ quiet. Ryo blinked in confusion, and a million thoughts ran through his mind as he tried to figure out what to do. In a matter of minutes he found himself being grabbed into a hug, and tackled by the bearer of Halo. The two of them landed on the nearest bed, just like Sage had wanted. And the other three Ronins jaws sagged considerably.

The Wildfire Ronin stared into the violet eyes that were zeroed in on his own; able to see clearly what the man was feeling. Concern, relief and happiness…And the one thing that gave Sage's previous actions away. There was mirth in his eyes.

The silence in the room was deafening, and then all of a sudden the Halo Ronin made a choking sound…Proceeding to roll off his leader onto the bed, and then burst out laughing.

"He…" the Ronin of Strata shook his head, "He's laughing!" The young man could not remember the last time he had heard Sage laugh so freely, but it had been a long time ago indeed.

"Sage," Cye was gaping, "You just pulled a complete out of character on us!"

"I know," he continued to laugh, casting a glance to Ryo who had remained frozen in place for a minute. Now the Ronin Leader was shaking his head, trying his best not to laugh anymore.

Wildfire's bearer tilted his head a smirk on his face, as he grabbed a pillow and whammed Sage in the head with it. It was a lot easier, he was sore and all the laughing he had done had not helped.

"You're an ass," Ryo commented, pouting as he lost his makeshift weapon the minute he tried to hit the Halo Ronin again.

"I know that too," Sage chuckled lightly, "But you've got no room to talk. That's what you get for worrying me half-to-death."

The raven-haired man gave a nervous laugh, sending to his friend privately, _'You're always hauling me out of danger; thank-you for that.'_

_'Someone has to look out for you, I nominated myself,'_ he quipped, then said, _'You're welcome, Ryo.'_

* * *

"Shounen-ai moment," Rowen sniggered out at the two of them, as they continued to lie on the bed.

Cye gave an evil grin as he sat down on the bed, and then yanked the Strata Ronin down with him. Rowen gave a surprised yelp and just barely avoided clunking his head against Sage's, who started to laugh at Torrent's antics.

Kento frowned for a moment as he surveyed the situation; with the four of them lying like they were…He smirked and casually walked to the other end of the room, and then launched himself onto the bed. Which groaned loudly in protest, as did Rowen and Cye who did not appreciate being flattened…Sage was too relieved to care, and Ryo could only laugh just glad to be there. With as distracted as they were, they failed to notice the flash of a camera going off.

Finally, White Blaze saw his chance and leapt up from his spot by Ryo's bed and pounced on the five unsuspecting Ronin. This lead to swearing, pushing and shoving, and the bed had enough and collapsed beneath them. It was a mess of limbs and appendages, and a few heads got knocked together in the process before the tiger decided to be kind and get off of them. The camera went off again, just prior to the large cat moving off of his prey.

White Blaze settled back down on the floor in his original spot, amusement shining in his brown eyes. He went back to sleep as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

As the five young men continued to struggle a shrill whistle caught their attention and they froze immediately. They had been so wrapped up they had forgotten they had a witness to their exploits.

Elayne had her arms crossed in front of her chest, a smile on her face and mischief playing in her eyes. She had taken the incriminating photos, and quickly put her camera back in her pocket…Never leave home without it.

Now having their attention she shook her head, "Well…A Ronin orgy, now I have seen _everything_." She was satisfied to see the looks of embarrassment on their faces, and she chuckled. "But, guys I have to ask that you don't rough up my patient anymore, okay?"

"You're no fun," Kento took the teasing in stride, and tossed it back at her.

Rowen smirked knowingly, asking, "What's a matter, you want in?"

The girl snorted and rolled her eyes, "I could name you a million women who would be dying for you to say that to them. But, this is me. So, that's just gross. You guys _enjoy_." _'Each other.'_

"Elayne!" Ryo shrieked at her, having caught what she mind-sent.

She merely laughed and shut the door behind her; boys would be boys…And the Ronin Warriors would forever be fun to pick on.

* * *

**Some Hours Later**

The Sailor of the Universe smiled softly to herself, as she walked along. She was happy that the five Ronin were so close, the words Seiji had spoken some thousand-five-hundred years ago rang true. They were a team, and in the end everything would be just fine.

Her eyes scanned her surroundings, and when she found nothing and no one she came to a halt. She tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear, before withdrawing her transformation pendant and giving it a twist. Now in Sailor form she slipped into the nearest shadow, and vanished from sight. Only to reappear in Serenity and the Ancient's preferred clearing for meetings.

She gave a polite nod to the Lady Kayura, lips twitching upwards in amusement at her attire. Kayura was wearing a pair of slacks, and a well-fitted blue shirt, she held the shakujo tightly in her one hand blinking at the Scout as if trying to figure out what the warrior thought was so funny.

"I see," the Lady of the Universe smiled, quick to point out the cause for her mirth, "You have taken to wearing the preferred mortal clothing of the time."

"You better believe it," Kayura commented with a grin, "It's better than wearing those stuffy kimonos. Don't get me wrong, I love my kimonos! But the mortal clothing of now is so much lighter."

Universe laughed lightly, and turned her attention to the two spirits who had taken that moment to appear. The four exchanged bows of respect, and then the two guardians waited for the Elders to speak.

"I am glad that Wildfire has returned," Serenity commented, though there was a grim look on her face, "However, now you have revealed yourself to the enemy."

"It mattered little Serenity-sama," Universe spoke in a calm tone, "They already believed me to be alive. I have been spying on them; once Kayura arrived they knew she couldn't be in two spots at once. Besides, once the seal is broken Akemliek will be able to sense me."

Kayura gave a nod to this, "If she had not interfered like she did, Wildfire might have been lost to us. I mean no disrespect, but the playing field has changed and so must the rules. You're still following the will of the Great Council, and we cannot afford to abide by whatever rules they have left."

"True enough," the Ancient murmured in acknowledgement, "If certain Council members had their way, the warriors would never win. This would continue on forever."

"Not forever," Universe shook her head softly, "I would not permit it. I take it Neo has spoken with you?"

"Yes the Universe of the Future has been here," Serenity gave a wry grin, "We were not expecting that, but perhaps we should have. No matter how much time passes, you still remain unchanged. Always doing whatever it takes to make sure all of them are safe."

Universe chuckled, "I'll take that as a compliment. Why did you summon us?"

"As you well know," the Ancient spoke up now, "The enemy has gathered the last of the energy; or, what they believe to be the last of the energy."

"What do you mean?" Kayura's brows furrowed in confusion, "They drained Wildfire, that should be the end of it."

"Not quite, Kayura," the Scout murmured, "Inferno also helped me to seal Akemliek. They drained the Rekka armor, not Kikoutei…If they had drained both… Ryo would be dead right now. Nothing Sage, or myself, did would have been enough to save him."

Her blue-eyes widened in surprise and slight fear, "That would mean the Ronins are still capable of summoning it. I thought they couldn't anymore."

"There's no proof they can't," the Ancient sighed heavily, "There has been proof to the affect they can use it still. The armors and virtues relying so heavily on Wildfire like they did, the fact they could feel his pain through their armor…It is very possible they can call Inferno."

"Neo-Universe confirmed it," Serenity added in, "She said that the links between the bearers had not changed, in fact it strengthened. However, she did say to be wary."

"Of course," Kayura gave a nod, she understood, "The armors themselves are stronger because they are devoid of Talpa's malice. Therefore, that would make the Inferno armor even stronger. As well as harder to control because it is closer to it's true nature. Am I supposed to tell them this?"

"I wouldn't," the Lady of the Universe cut both the Ancient and Serenity off. "Not just yet, give them time to recover from this latest blow. Once the shock wears off, then I'd notify them."

The Lady Ancient bit her lip, looking to the two Elders for their input.

"That is what I would suggest," the Ancient remarked, "If you're concerned they might accuse you of something you can always say it was on our order."

Universe laughed lightly, shaking her head, "Don't worry Kayura. Just blame it on me, like everyone else does."

"Thank-you Uni," the woman smiled, "I don't think that'll be necessary though. Are we adjourned for now?"

Serenity gave a nod and then vanished; though, the Ancient one was not as quick to depart.

"Kaosu?" the Senshi tilted her head and blinked, "What is it?"

"Serenity-sama, forgot to mention something. We shall not be seeing you again this year," the Ancient one chuckled lightly, "It is around this time that we spirits take a break from traveling back and forth."

"Oh, then we will see you next year then," Kayura smiled and bowed; as did the Scout at her side.

* * *

The two women sighed heavily, and exchanged glances with one another. Kayura frowned as she noticed certain things about the Scout that had changed since their last meeting…The Senshi was paler and it seemed as though there was more silver in her hair.

"Universe, what…?" she left the sentence hanging in the air, knowing her companion would be quick to catch onto it.

The Scout smiled a little, "With the seal in place, I'm not supposed to be using any of my power. Since I have to use it, I'm putting a strain on my body. Each time I reach my limit, the more my hair turns silver. I'm no different from anyone who stresses themselves out over things...My reasons are just a bit odd."

"I see," Kayura chuckled at the woman's stab at humor, "Will I be seeing you before next year?"

The Sailor of the Universe smiled, "You never know; until next time, Kayura. See you around!" She gave a bow of her head and then backed up into the nearest shadow, offering a wave of her hand before vanishing from sight.

"Well," the Lady Ancient let out a sigh, blowing the bangs from her face in the process, "That was an awfully short meeting, not that I'm complaining." She laughed softly to herself, before willing away the staff and returning back to the house.

* * *

**Akemliek's Domain**

"Wildfire lives still," Kali murmured in a quiet voice, kneeling on the ground in the dismal cavern. "I beg your forgiveness. I am unsure as to how they managed to save him."

"There is no need for you to apologize," Akemliek softly chuckled, "I said before not to worry if he lived through this. Also, anything is possible. With the Lady Universe around, they've a much better chance of living."

"We collected the energy from his armor, and transferred it without incident," Thanos commented as he walked into the room, and then kneeled next to his sister. "I was also told to inform you that the Raikken are near to completing the translation of the incantation."

"That is good news indeed," Akemliek could be heard pacing behind the thick wall of ice, "I grow tired of these same walls, and would love nothing more than to be able to see my entire domain once more."

Kali gave a slight smile, "I am sure, Master. But, there is something Thanos and I need to tell you."

"Which is?"

Thanos glowered at his sister for bringing it up, before saying, "I think we do not have enough energy to break the seal. There seems to be a vital piece of power missing, but I am unsure how this can be."

"We gathered all the energy, including that of the armors," Kali added in, "We had to have overlooked something, but we're not sure what."

Akemliek was silent for several minutes, "Was there anything in the ancient texts we have acquired over the years? That had something that might have mentioned the seal, or any predictions relating to it?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact," Kali commented taking out a book and handing it to Thanos, "I bookmarked the page; I got bored and wanted to do some reading."

Thanos eyes skimmed over the text and he frowned deeply, murmuring, "It is interesting, but I've no clue what it is referring to. Master, would you like to hear it?"

"May as well, I've nothing better to do on this end," Akemliek chuckled out.

"_The Seal of Light shall be shattered_

_Upon the collection of the powers and their rage._

_But at first the enemy shall not succeed_

_Having under-estimated their greater need._

_Only when the element of five is called,_

_Can the last of the power be gathered."_

Thanos closed the book with a snap, eyes furrowed in thought, "What does that mean?"

"Ah," Akemliek murmured after several moments pause, "I forgot about that one."

"Master?" Kali queried in confusion.

Akemliek let out a belly of a laugh, "There is something, I neglected to tell you about. That mistake I will correct now. Then we must plan for the coming months, we will have to wait until Wildfire is well before we attack again."

Thanos blinked, not quite sure if he had heard right, "Master Akemliek?"

"There is yet another mystical armor in the Ronin's possession, in my time it was known as Shiroi Kikoutei," Akemliek was smiling for you could hear it in his voice, "Now, they call it the Inferno Armor."


	40. Chapter 39: Games of Cat and Mouse

**Chapter Thirty-Nine**

"_**Games of Cat and Mouse"**_

**Two Days Later**

Kayura came down the stairs to find the living room empty; it wasn't that big of a surprise though. Those who had jobs were currently out working, those who didn't or had the day off were out shopping or exercising. However, in the case of the Ronin Warriors? It was worrying.

The Lady Ancient laughed softly to herself as she made her way across the room. She paused to open a door, slipped inside and pulled it closed behind her. Ever since Elayne had cleared the Ronin of Wildfire, the other four had been watching him closely. Granted, Kento was not being as bad about it as the others were, but he was still keeping watch over his leader.

Kayura once more halted in her walking, as voices drifted up to her. This assured her that the Seasonals were already waiting for her. Now knowing this, she carefully descended into the basement.

* * *

"We have to be on guard," the bearer of Spring murmured, running a hand through his red hair. His eyebrows were pricked into a frown, as he stated what was on his mind, "We've seen nothing of the enemy since their strike against Wildfire."

Cale gave a nod of his head in agreement, straightening out the sleeves of his burgundy sweater. He didn't much like this one, it was too scratchy but he was a warrior so he had dealt with worse when it came to uncomfortable clothing.

The others seemed to be watching him, waiting for further input, so he said, "This bothers me also. They have a clear advantage against us, and should be using this opportunity to strike."

"Maybe they do not view striking when the odds are in their favor as a good sign?" Sekhmet stroked his chin, eyes closed as he thought it over. This really didn't make all that much sense to him either; the enemy should be hammering on them with as weak as they were now.

"Or they just want Wildfire to recover enough, so that if any fighting does occur, he will be present," a scowl framed Dais' face, "Though it could also be possible that they are using this time to break the seal."

"That is a very real possibility," Kayura now stepped out from the shadows of the stairwell, "But whatever comes I am sure the four of you will be ready for it."

Anubis gave her a wry grin, "Thank you for the vote of confidence."

"No problem," she chirped, sliding into her seat in-between Sekhmet and Dais. Cale raised an eyebrow at her, as he was sitting across from her next to Anubis, and she stuck her tongue out in response.

Silence reigned for several minutes, before Sekhmet decided to break it. The hunter green shirt he wore fit just well enough to allow you to see the well defined muscles beneath the fabric.

The bearer of Fall idly drummed his fingers on the table, "Wonder what is keeping him?"

Kayura tried her best not to laugh, and settled for a snigger, "He probably got confronted by one of the other Ronin, again. They haven't given him a moment's peace since he woke up."

"Poor fool should've staid asleep," Cale shook his head in mirth, "It would have been safer for him."

"Undoubtedly," Anubis offered a chuckle to this, saying, "However, as we all know Ryo has the tendency to take unpredictable paths."

"Do I?" The young man inquired with a grin, as he walked into their line of sight. He had been listening to their talk for the better part of the past ten minutes.

"Ryo!" the Seasonal of Summer greeted, "You're getting better at lurking."

"Thanks for the compliment Dais," the Ronin of Wildfire suppressed a chuckle, as he sat down next to Anubis. "Sorry I took so long, had to ditch my baby-sitters."

The Seasonal Warriors had to snort back their laughter they had figured quite as much…Poor Ryo.

This had become somewhat a normal routine for the six of them; meeting in a spot and then talking about everything and nothing at the same time. It had started not that long after the warriors from the Nether Realm had first arrived at the mansion.

During that first week, the Ronin of Wildfire had gone out of his way to make sure they were all right and that they felt as though they belonged.

The Seasonals had been wary at first, but had soon accepted the fact that Wildfire's bearer considered them to be friends now. Meaning that he was going to do everything he possibly could to help them if and when they needed it.

If there was one thing that Ryo had proven himself to be, it was forgiving and generous. It had been hard for them to understand, except for Anubis as he was already aware of the young man's character.

By all rights, they did not deserve such kindness…Didn't deserve a chance to prove themselves worthy. Yet, Ryo had plainly told them they had nothing to prove…Not to him at least. As far as he was concerned, they were apart of the team now and that was the only thing that mattered.

* * *

Cale cleared his throat bringing an end to the sudden silence, "Any further progress with that information you stumbled across?"

The Ronin of Wildfire presented a floppy-disk, laying it down on the table so they could all see it. He then leaned back in his chair a smug smile on his face.

"Finished downloading it a half-hour ago," he answered calmly. Having his memories back enabled Ryo to know what was going on, what exactly they were dealing with and what the enemy was currently up to.

While he couldn't come out and directly state what he knew, he could do it by making it look as though he had found the information somewhere else. Ryo would have loved nothing more than to state the full facts, and why he knew so much…But, he knew that at this point in time he just couldn't.

The others were not ready to learn the truth of their past, and if Akemliek were to become aware that one of the warriors had already remembered there was no telling what he would do. There were too many risks here, and Ryo just wasn't willing to take chances…His armor was also cautioning him against doing anything that might jeopardize the future.

"It took you that long to lose your entourage?" Sekhmet arched his eyebrows, part in amusement, and part in amazement.

Ryo snorted at this, and slightly rolled his eyes, "Are you guys forgetting who kept coming after Talpa, no matter what he decided to throw out?"

"Good point," Dais chuckled lightly, "They _are_ that persistent."

"No kidding," the Ronin Leader mumbled darkly, adding in his head, _'They've always been like that, though.'_

Anubis shook his head in amusement, before picking up the disc and swiveling his chair around to face the computer the Elemental Senshi had set up in the basement.

The bearer of Spring had already booted the system up, and now inserted the floppy disc, waiting for it to load before beginning his search.

"Now remind me again," Ryo said slowly as he watched Anubis, "Where did you learn to use a computer?"

The red-haired man grinned, as he scrolled through the data being displayed, "When I was with Mia, I picked up a few things." He shot a dark glare at his comrades when they started to snigger at him, and they immediately quieted.

The Ronin of Wildfire chuckled at this, "That so?"

"Mhm," the Seasonal paused a moment, thinking to add, "Elayne was also kind enough to give me a…I believe she termed it a "crash course." She gave it to all of us actually, but I seem to have better luck with this contraption than the others."

Sekhmet motioned to Ryo to come closer and the man did so. The green-haired Seasonal then leaned over the table and whispered into his ear, "That's because Nubis is a geek."

The Ronin Leader tossed back his head and laughed at the comment, covering it up with: "The former Warlords gone high-tech, now if that doesn't beat all."

The bearer of Summer grinned widely as he said, "Actually, try picturing Sekhmet with reading glasses. Now, _that_ truly does beat all."

* * *

Aurora entered the house and slipped off her shoes, moving over and hanging up her coat. Her emerald eyes flickered over the house, landing to rest on the door to the basement. She could clearly hear the laughter, and shook her head in amusement stepping further into the house.

She tilted her head, watching as a familiar blonde entered from the kitchen a disgruntled look on his face. The Elemental Leader let out a chuckle, and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"What's so amusing?" The swordsman of Halo inquired with a frown.

Aurora grinned at him, "You lost Ryo."

Sage gave a roll of his eyes, and shook his head, before inquiring, "How did you know?"

"Oh by that cute face you get when you're annoyed," she chirped at him sweetly, moving past him to get into the kitchen. "The one you're currently wearing."

He raised an elegant eyebrow at her, the look on his face changing from annoyance to puzzled amusement. She looked over her shoulder, saw this and burst out laughing…Sage blinked at her.

"All right," the Sailor of Light laughed out, "How long have you misplaced him for, _this time_?"

The Ronin of Halo gave his partner a dark look, catching the implication she made in her statement. Though, it was not being made without merit. Ryo had been ditching his detail quite often and at regular intervals.

"Twenty minutes," Sage grumbled asking, "Have you seen him?"

Aurora sniggered outright at this, "No, I haven't. Even if I had, I think he needs a break from the four of you smothering him."

"You think we're being ridiculous about this?" the swordsman tilted his head to study her.

"I sort of understand where you guys are coming from. I have my own team to watch out for," the Elemental Leader smiled, "But, I do think you guys are over-doing it just a bit."

"How so? It was a close call Aurora, much closer than what we're used to," the man murmured with a frown.

She shook her head, "I get that, but still and all Ryo's twenty-three-years-old Sage; he can take care of himself. The enemy only went after him because they knew he was at a disadvantage, if he'd been at full strength he would've been fine."

"All right, so maybe we'll let up a little bit," Sage commented with a resigned sigh, "Yayoi just told us to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't get a dizzy spell which could lead to him falling and further injuring himself. She said a normal person wouldn't be allowed to be up and about this soon."

"Ah," the woman gave a nod and then said, "But if you guys are so worried about that, couldn't you tell him?"

"We already have, he just doesn't like the extra attention," there was a grin on his face, "It's why he's ditching us every chance he gets. That and he wants to see how long it takes us to find him, leave it to Ryo to turn this into a game."

Aurora laughed again, "Boys will be boys. And somehow I get the feeling you five will _never _grow up."

"Ha ha," he was prepared to further comment, but laughter sprang up from the basement and he turned his head. "What's going…?"

"It's the Seasonals, or did you forget they're living with us?" she teased him, adding, "We gave them free range of the basement. It keeps you all from stepping on one another's toes. Right now, all we need is for you eight to get into a brawl."

"Hey, now hold on a minute," Sage gave a playful pout, "I've been good. Cale's still alive and in one-piece."

Aurora rolled her eyes, but smiled glad to see that the Ronin of Halo was starting to act like his normal self. Sure, he came across as cold and aloof, but once you got past it he was just like any other twenty-three-year-old man who had never grown up. This was amusing in itself, considering the type of family he came from.

"I'm being serious, being a smart-alec doesn't suit you Sage," she chided, before stating in a serious tone, "While you all have seemed to arrive at some mutual agreement not to argue or whatever…There's something not right about it."

"We've talked," the Ronin of Halo said in calm tone, "We sat down and talked it out with our former enemies, our exact opposites…One on one. It was partly due to the armors, they just kept pushing. It's like they knew and understood where we were coming from with whatever grudge we had…Yet, they wanted us to work it out."

Sage paused and looked out the window for a moment, "I mean, it's not like we have forgotten or instantly forgave them…But, as much as I would like to hold a grudge, I'm not capable of it. Cye feels we can trust them, and that's good enough for me."

"I'm glad to hear it," Aurora said slowly, "However, you and Cye I'm not worried about. Kento probably isn't capable of holding a grudge either, his virtue being justice and all…But if something sets him off, we're doomed. Rowen, well his sharp wit and sarcastic nature…If he says something, there will be trouble."

"That's my best-friend for you," the bearer of Halo let out a light chuckle, "Intelligence quotient of two-hundred-fifty, wisdom nil, and a mouth that outdoes both."

The Sailor of Light smiled, "It explains why you ended up with Courtesy and Wisdom and he got stuck with Life and Intellect. But, I kind of think its amusing Kaosu forgot which ones he gave to Halo and Strata in the past and gave them different ones."

"Agreed, though it is interesting that Suzunagi's version covers both virtues," Sage's eyes landed on the wall-clock, and he frowned. "Perhaps it's possible that we each started out with two during the first lifetime. I better get back to my hunt, I think I'll go snatch White Blaze and force…Er, enlist him to help."

"Good luck," Aurora waited till she knew her elemental partner was out of ear-shot before laughing. She then returned back to what she had been doing before Sage had walked in.

* * *

Cale and Dais were currently involved in a game of 'Go' having tired of listening to Anubis drone on. Well, the Spring Seasonal had only been given snippets to them after he had confirmed it was accurate. He did this by cross-referencing it with some data the others had acquired.

For the most part he was staying silent, the only sound coming from that corner of the room was that of his fingers hitting the keyboard. Kayura and Sekhmet were reading, pausing every so often to switch books.

Ryo found that to be rather amusing, and if he weren't so tired he'd probably comment on it. The young man rubbed at his eyes, and bit back a yawn.

Yayoi had warned him that he'd probably feel tired for the next few days, and that was just from a normal standpoint. With the drain on his armor and the separation to boot…Well there was no telling how long it would be before he got his strength back.

Sekhmet looked over top the book, and studied the Ronin of Wildfire for a moment. "Perhaps you should invest in getting more sleep?"

"I'm fine," Ryo grumbled out, failing to hold in his yawn.

Dais let out a chuckle in amusement, "That's why you're about to fall asleep where you sit, right?"

The young man now rolled his eyes skyward, "You five," Ryo said in an accusing tone of voice, "Are getting to be as bad as the guys."

"It can't really be helped. You have this ability to get yourself into life-threatening situations," Cale shrugged his shoulders, as he proceeded to move his piece and win the game. "More often than any regular warrior, might I add?"

The Ronin of Wildfire shook his head not bothering to hide his smile, "I'm just a menace."

"We know," Kayura laughed, before turning her attention to the stairs.

"I'm with Kayura," a musical voice said, as she came into view, "You have been a nuisance from day one Sanada."

"Gee thanks Kirs," the Ronin Leader chuckled, "What's up?"

The Elemental of Earth gave a wry grin, "Don't mean to intrude, but you better re-appear Ryo. Your beloved moms are two seconds away from having major conniption fits."

"Sometimes I seriously wonder about them," the Summer Seasonal commented, rolling his eye. "Like Elayne said, they're over-protective and paranoid."

"Truer words were never spoken," Kirstin commented with a snigger, "I'll catch ya'll later. Stay out of trouble now." She didn't wait for a response; she merely turned around and walked back up the stairs.

"How can we stay out of trouble?" Sekhmet mused aloud, "Considering we _are _trouble."

Anubis chuckled lightly in amusement, "Seems that she forgot that part."

Ryo got to his feet with a bit of effort, "I'll go and get that rest now; let me know what else you come up with. Oh, Kayura try not to kill Cale this time?"

The young Ancient suddenly looked embarrassed, and she gave a slight nod in response. The Winter Seasonal had a smug grin on his face, a 'ha, so there' air about him.

Ryo must've noticed for he added, "And, Cale? Leave her alone, otherwise I won't feel sorry for you the next time she has one of her jitte pressed against your throat."

Dais waited until the young man had left, before saying, "He really tries hard to keep us all together, doesn't he?"

"Sometimes a little too hard," Anubis acknowledged with a smile, "I give him credit for trying though."

Cale and Kayura were too busy having a glaring contest with each other to comment, there was undoubtedly a mental argument going on as well.

Sekhmet rolled his eyes and returned to reading his book, _'People think I'm the insane one? Pah.'_

* * *

The Ronin of Wildfire was going through great lengths to hide his whereabouts. It wasn't so much that he was trying to avoid the other Ronin (though that was part of it), he was merely trying to see what he was capable of.

With his memories being what they were, he recalled much of what he could do in the past. Seeing as how he had nothing better to do, he was testing some of the easier ones out.

Hiding his limited amount of energy from the other Ronin had proven to be simple enough; and it didn't require him to concentrate all that much in order to pull it off. Of course, his four friends probably weren't happy and would have strangled him if they had known he was doing this on purpose. Oh well, what they didn't know couldn't hurt them.

Ryo was currently leaning against the banister, waiting for the others to pick up on his whereabouts, having removed the block just seconds before. He tilted his head and looked to the door, "Five."

White Blaze chose to re-enter the house at that exact moment, spying his cub he quickly walked over. The tiger gave the man a gentle nudged to the leg, and looked up at him expectantly.

"Hey boy," Ryo greeted his lifelong companion, as he sank down to pet the tiger. The Ronin of Wildfire suddenly looked back up, "Two…One."

Sage entered the house a look of confusion on his face, as well as a slight amount of bewilderment. Cye was not more than a step or two behind the blonde swordsman, relief flooded his features upon seeing his leader.

"Where'd you vanish to?" the Torrent Ronin inquired with a frown.

"Nowhere," the Wildfire Ronin replied getting back to his feet, "I haven't left the house."

Before either man could reply to that, raised voices could be heard from the upstairs hallway; the three remained silent to listen.

"You guys are overreacting," came Kento's voice, just a slight amount of annoyance in the tone.

Rowen could be heard scoffing, "How so? One minute we can sense him, the next he's gone. I don't care how badly drained his armor is, it shouldn't be doing that."

"It's not like he's going to go off and do something stupid," Kento shot back over his shoulder as he started to descend the stairs. The Ronin of Hardrock halted mid-way though, upon seeing who was at the bottom.

"Don't count on it," the Strata Ronin snorted, not failing to spy his leader.

"Oh?" Ryo raised an eyebrow, a confused frown on his face, "Why is that Ro?"

The blue-haired archer walked past Kento, coming to stop on the step directly in front of his leader. "This is _you _we're talking about Ryo, that's why."

"Rowen," Sage hissed out in warning, already knowing where this conversation was headed, "Don't go there!"

Ryo held up his hand, a scowl on his face, "No, I want to hear this. You implying that I do stupid things all the time?"

"Not stupid, just reckless," the archer corrected, "No offense Ryo. But every time you get into near-death situations, you basically go out the day after and get into even more trouble. Your body doesn't get a chance to recover before you put yourself back into a life-threatening position."

* * *

Cye winced slightly at this now realizing just how ugly this was going to be, and cast a glance to the Ronin of Halo who gave a heavy sigh. Sage proceeded to walk into the kitchen and pulled out three cups from one of the cabinets. The Ronin of Torrent took some tea leaves and put them into a teapot, and then added hot water to it.

Kento managed to bypass Ryo and Rowen to join the other two in the kitchen; he shook his head, "They are unbelievable."

"Pretty much," the Halo Ronin answered, sighing through his nose at what he heard next.

"You forgetting Sarenbo?" Rowen asked, "Wasn't even four days after you came back to consciousness and you were fighting him."

"Excuse me," the Wildfire Ronin snorted out, eyeing the man angrily, "But you were the ones who decided you were doing me a favor by keeping me in the dark. If we had discussed it as a _team_, we might have been able to do something. In the end, you just made things worse!"

"We were trying to keep you alive," the archer retorted rather quick to add, "You didn't help by going out on your own and almost getting yourself killed the next day! And while we're on this subject, let's not leave out Saberstryke."

"Don't you dare bring that nut up," Ryo gave a low growl in warning, "You are not going to like my return comments for this one, trust me."

"I think I'll take my chances," the Ronin of Strata commented, before he went off on another tirade.

"Mia said they spent the better part of their time fighting while we were 'tied up,'" Kento remarked as he sipped at his tea.

"A miracle they ever rescued us in that case," Cye snorted out and rolled his eyes, "Especially with as bad as they are currently fighting."

"Poor Mia, the woman had the patience of a saint to put up with us," the Ronin of Halo downed the last of his tea, and briefly checked at his watch. "Yeah, twelve minute is long enough."

He walked back out into the living room, and studied the two arguing men. Cye and Kento were quick to finish their drinks, and joined Sage, wondering what he planned to do.

The Warrior of Wisdom and Courtesy counted down in his head, and then let out a sharp whistle. Both Wildfire and Strata stopped in their fight to turn and glance at the swordsman, eyebrows raised in confusion.

"You two finished?" the blond casually inquired, dryly adding, "Or would you like to carry on until the Senshi get back?"

"He has a point," the Ronin of Trust brought in, "You both need to calm down; there's no reason for this. Ryo, we're just worried about you, that's all."

"Cye," the Ronin Leader let out a long breath and spoke in a quiet tone, "I know you guys mean well, but I'm tired of being treated half my age. I'd like to have some space; end of conversation."

"Fine by me," Hardrock's bearer commented, "So long as you don't go and play hero on us when we're not looking."

Ryo rolled his eyes at this remark, and shook his head, "I'm not going to go anywhere!"

"Let's hope so," Sage cleared his throat, and grinned wryly, "Otherwise, not only will you have us on your case, but my sister and Elayne as well."

"Oh great," Ryo grumbled out, saying in slight irritation, "I'm going to bed."

"I don't think so," Rowen shook his head, pointing an accusing finger at his leader. "You and I aren't done here."

"As far as I'm concerned," the Wildfire Ronin narrowed his eyes for emphasis, "We are."

"Would you let him sleep it off?" Kento gave an exasperated sigh. It was times like these he wondered why Rowen got pegged as being the smartest in the group.

Ryo snorted in laughter, the way that sounded…No, he couldn't leave that remark alone; "Gee, thanks a lot Kento."

The Ronin of Hardrock gave his friend a look, "Two words for you, buddy. B…"

"Kento!" Cye cut his friend off adding a stern glare to his reprimand.

To this the Ronin Leader let out a low moan, "We're absolutely ridiculous."

"Bloody understatement," Cye then frowned turning his attention to the archer, unable to understand why the man hadn't said anything. Then he noticed that Rowen was glaring at Sage, who was staring back.

The two men were currently engaged in a mental argument, and of course it was about Ryo. The blond swordsman was winning the fight by a landslide.

Of course, in order to be in that position he had to point out a few things about the Ronin of Wildfire's character. Basically, not all of what Sage said could be considered as a compliment.

Rowen gave a sigh in defeat, before saying, "Look, Ryo…"

"You know what?" He looked from Strata's bearer to Halo and then back, "Next time try to actually close the links."

The young man brushed past his friends walking over to the door and slipped on his shoes; White Blaze was quick to follow after him. He rested a hand on the door knob saying, "Oh and by the way, screw you two."

Cye out and out gaped at him, and Kento did his best not to burst out laughing…The Ronins of Halo and Strata remained silent.

As the Ronin of Wildfire opened the door, he added, "And yes, I actually do know what that means."

Sage waited until the door closed before speaking, he fiercely rubbed the point between his eyebrows; "I give up."

Kento let out a chuckle in amusement, "I think he got offended at what you called him, Sage."

Rowen snorted in laughter, "You think?"

"A hot-headed, thick-skulled compassionate soul that insists on throwing himself head first into danger without thinking about the consequences to him," the Ronin of Trust sniggered, "It's by-far the most accurate description of Ryo I've heard."

"Shut-up," the blond swordsman grouched, "You're not helping."

"I've an unopened bottle of sake stashed where the underage couldn't find it, if you want it," Cye offered up.

"Now, _that_'ll help," Sage said with a grin.

* * *

Ryo stood outside of the door, running things over in his head just one more time. With a sigh, he reluctantly knocked on the door, and waited for an answer. At this point, he just wanted some time to himself out of sight and ear-shot of the other warriors…Not just his teammates.

"Come on in!"

The Ronin of Wildfire shrugged of his hesitation and purposely entered the room, quickly closing the door behind him. His deep-blue eyes scanned the bedroom over coming to rest on the person he was looking for.

Ryo slowly walked over to where she sat, noting that her back was to him, "Hey, it's me. Do you mind if I…?"

"I thought it might be, heard your little altercation before," Elayne commented laughter in her voice, "Of course I don't mind. If it'll make you feel any better you can lock the door, too."

"No that's okay," he said with a chuckle, "You know several people will read into it."

"Let 'em, it'd be even more entertaining," she quipped looking over her shoulder at him, "Go ahead and take a seat, I don't expect you to stand the entire time. Give me a couple minutes though, okay? I have to get something finished."

"Thanks Elayne, I appreciate it," he took one of the vacant chairs, noting that once more the table was piled high in papers.

"Hey, the way I see it I owe you something for saving the world so often," she grinned, before picking up the phone she had placed down on the table, and punching a number, "Okay, I'm back. Go ahead."

Ryo tilted his head to study her as she worked, watching in amusement as she picked up a pair of glasses and put them on. He didn't want to be rude, so he mouthed, _'You wear reading glasses?'_

_'Yeah, I have twenty-twenty vision, but suffer from eyestrain,' _she answered mentally, grinning at the look of embarrassment on his face.

_'I forgot you could do that,' _he sheepishly admitted.

_'You and I haven't chatted in ages probably why you forgot. I can multi-task, sometimes,' _Elayne commented in response.

She was currently taking down notes from one of the many books she had open; meanwhile, her left hand was holding the phone to her ear. Every now and then she would use her shoulder to hold the phone in place, while she used her hand to type something into her computer.

Ryo blinked as he continued to watch this,_ 'I'll say you can!'_

_'Heh, yeah,'_ she sounded distracted_, 'Gonna have to cut this short, kay? I need to be able to focus.'_

Ryo leaned back in the chair, starting to get bored after five minutes had passed. A wicked thought came to him, and he tried not to snigger at the notion. He slowly pulled a piece of paper towards him, giving a broad smile at Elayne's look of protest. This quickly turned into a glance that stated she would have no problem in killing him.

He actually permitted himself a snigger, and smugly grinned at her.

"So you think its three-thousand-years-old?" Elayne inquired, a thoughtful frown claiming her features. "How is it possible for a book to survive that long?"

She glowered at Ryo snatching back her pencil that he had found necessary to take, before jotting something down. Not to be deterred, the young man snatched a book next. Elayne looked ready to throttle him! Truth be told, if the Wildfire Ronin had missed anything, it was this. Antagonizing the hell out of the person he grew up with, just to see how many buttons he could push before she lost her cool.

"Excuse me one second, sir," She put the call on hold again, leveling a glare at Ryo, "You touch one more thing and I'm going to break your hand. Capiche?"

"Mhm, understand you perfectly," he then added in an all-knowing-tone, "Capiche is New York slang, you know."

"You were there once, and now you're an expert?" the girl incredulously inquired, "For your information, I lived there for several years. Stop with the Rowen attitude, one of him is enough. Now, do you think I could finish this call?"

"I'm not stopping you, you stopped yourself."

"The minute I'm done you're a dead man. Thanos and Kali won't have to worry about finishing you off," She again pressed the button on the phone, "Forgive me, it's a zoo around here."

For several minutes there was complete silence, and then she used both hands, and began to rapidly type.

"Right, I see…" Something jumped on screen, and she frowned, "What's the password?"

The voice said something; she typed the information in, and then hit enter.

"Thanks, I am in. Now when do you need the information by?" There was another frown on her face, this one deeper, "Mhm, I think that's do-able. I should have it to you before the new year."

A soft smile came to her face, "Yeah, I will tell her. Love you too, Grandpa. Uhuh, you stay out of trouble yourself."

The girl hung up the phone, and wrote something else down; she then gathered up her notes and put them into a folder. She saved something on her computer and then set it so that it would shut down. Elayne got to her feet and stretched, before closing all the books and taking off her glasses setting them aside.

* * *

"Which Grandfather was that?" Ryo casually inquired as he leafed through one of the books he had grabbed.

"Eytinge, and give me that!" She effortlessly yanked the book from his hand, his hold on it having already started to slip.

"Hey," the Ronin of Wildfire tightened his jaw to keep from yawning but failed, "I was reading it."

"When did you learn Italian?" Elayne asked with a shake of her head, as she walked to the bookshelf and put it back.

"That explains why it looked like gibberish," Ryo gave her a sheepish grin in response to her query.

Elayne laughed and looked him over a moment, a frown quickly reclaiming her features. Even though he appeared to be in high spirits, she could tell that the Ronin of Wildfire was exhausted. All the warriors were to be honest; this constant fighting was not good for them. Especially seeing as how the negative energy the warriors were dealing with was far stronger than what they were used to.

She was starting to worry about them, the only comfort she had was that there would be no attacks until after the New Year. The enemy would not bother with trying to strike during December, so Pluto had said. Universe had then gone on to back the statement up, saying if anything did happen she would take care of it….Or, Neo-Universe rather; the time meddler was taking her task rather seriously…And stepping in whenever she possibly could.

Of course when the Guardian of Time made the announcement to the other warriors later, Elayne was sure Pluto would leave the information about the Neo-Scout out.

"Elayne, you okay?" the Wildfire Ronin studied her, having noted that she was lost in thought.

She quickly came back to the world around her, saying "I'm good, just pre-occupied. Since you're here, might as well get that check-up over with."

Ryo visibly tensed, as he uneasily said, "No, I don't think that's really necessary."

The girl gave him a look, one that clearly stated not to argue with her on this one, "Lose the shirt yourself, or would you rather I take it off for you?"

The Ronin of Wildfire paused in thought, and decided to use the opening she had just given him, "You would just _love_ to do that, huh?"

"Mm, you making it an offer?" she innocently inquired; two could so play at this little game.

She smoothly walked over to him, watching with satisfaction as he tensed and backed further into the chair. He looked worried and above all else extremely uncomfortable.

"E…Elayne," Ryo nervously said, eyes widening as she stopped just in front of him. His breath caught in his throat and he froze as she leaned over so that her mouth was by his ear. He leaned back even more in the chair, causing its front legs to lift off the ground.

"After I get rid of the shirt, I'm going to…" She paused, managing to keep a straight face as Ryo fell over backward, "Jab you with the biggest needle I can find!" She then laughed at him as he struggled to get back to his feet.

He was scowling at her as he picked up the chair, "You think you're funny don't you?"

Elayne offered him a small smile, "You were asking for that one. Come on Ryo; let's just get this over with."

"Fine," he relented, pulling the shirt over top of his head, placing it on the table.

* * *

Elayne frowned as she looked the wound over, noting that it had already started to scar. There was nothing dark or negative lingering about the injury, so that was a relief to see.

"Sage did a good job with this," she murmured, tracing over it with her fingers.

Ryo shivered despite his best effort not to. He already felt awkward standing here like this, and she certainly wasn't helping matters.

She looked up at him asking in confusion, "What are you so tense for?"

The young man ducked his head down trying to avoid her gaze. He just couldn't fathom it; he was nervous and she was completely calm with the situation. "No…No reason."

"You're as red as your armor," she sniggered having caught a glimpse at his face. "What's wrong, never dealt with a female nurse before?"

"That's not it," he murmured, shutting his eyes and shivering again. All of a sudden he grasped her hand in his own, to prevent her from fussing over the wound any further.

"Ryo?" Elayne's brows furrowed in confusion; she tried to pull back her hand but he merely tightened his grip. Once he did that she froze, her eyes going back to his face.

The Ronin of Wildfire let out a sigh and raised his eyes to meet hers, "I came up here to get out of the others sight, but mostly to talk to you. I'm sorry, Elayne, I know I had you worried."

The girl blinked, still confused as to what had possessed him to go down this road all of a sudden. One minute he was embarrassed and jittery, the next serious and grave…It wasn't like him to be so unpredictable.

It took her a few minutes to respond; "It's not like you had control over what happened. I don't think I was any more worried than anybody else."

That was a lie, and she knew it…Seeing him in such a condition had only did more to bring about the unwanted images she so often saw in her dreams. The memories of a past she could do nothing to change, even if she had that kind of power. If she hadn't been trained to deal with seeing people wounded and gravely injured in a professional manner, she would have frozen up the minute she saw Ryo when Kento had brought him in.

"I still owe you some kind of apology," He mumbled out, pulling her into his arms. The young man proceeded to rest his chin on her head, letting out another anguished sigh. "As well as a thank-you for what you did."

Elayne continued to remain silent, though her shock and confusion slowly wore off. Suddenly she understood that the reason for his sudden change in attitude was only partly due to the exhaustion he was suffering from…There was something bothering him, something he was concerned about.

"It's going to get ugly, isn't it?" She gently inquired, leaning her head against his shoulder, not surprised when his hold on her tightened.

"Yeah," the Ronin of Wildfire's voice wavered slightly, "From here on in things are going to get worse. I'm not sure if I can…Or, will be able to…" Words failed him now, and he gritted his teeth together in annoyance.

"You'll manage. Everyone believes in you Ryo," she brightly stated, "So do I, you know?"

"I know that, it's just I'm worried," He said in a quiet voice. "Elayne? I don't want you to get hurt."

She stiffened, picking her head up to look at him, "What makes you think anything is going to happen to me?"

"A feeling, more so than anything else," the young man answered, reluctantly letting her go as she pulled away from him.

Elayne eyed him suspiciously a frown forming on her face, "You're hiding something, aren't you?"

"No I'm not!" He protested, shaking his head in aggravation, "I knew I shouldn't have said anything… You know this day has been a nightmare from the start? I shouldn't have bothered to get up…" Ryo blinked in confusion as the girl put a finger to his lips and offered him a smile.

"Sorry, doubtful by nature," she apologized, and then added with a snigger to change the topic, "I notice you've become awfully _comfortable_."

The Ronin Leader let out a surprised yelp, grabbing his shirt and hastily putting it back on. Elayne watched this display with a great deal of amusement, and probably a bit of disappointment.

"You and Sage," she remarked with a grin, "Get flustered over the littlest things."

Ryo arched a dark-eyebrow at her, wondering just what she meant by that statement…He didn't have very long to wait.

The girl sighed deeply, "Mm. I'm just stuck trying to figure out which of you looks better without a shirt. Choices, choices."

"Elayne!" He gaped at her, his face once more turning red due to his embarrassment.

"Oh come on, what did you expect?" She inquired, her grin widening, "I'm single! I'm entitled to look."

"You're just doing this to get a rise out of me," He mumbled eyes tightly squeezed shut.

"And it's working," She pointed out happily, "You're really entertaining when you're tired. Sorry, Ryo you know how I am with easy targets."

He glared at her to show he was in no way amused, though he gave up and merely yawned instead.

Elayne thoughtfully studied him for a moment or two, "You need to get some sleep Ryo. You've been up for long enough now."

"You said you heard my little squabble with Rowen," the Wildfire Ronin commented, "I'm not going back to the room. I just don't want to deal with the others right now."

"There's a bed over there," she vaguely gestured to it, walking over to her door having heard a scratching noise. "Use it. It's not like you haven't before."

She opened it a crack and then fully once she saw what was there, "Come on in Blaze. He's hiding here."

_'I thought he might, quietest room in the entire house,'_ the tiger commented with a slight chuckle. He padded over to his cub, gently butting him in the knee to get his attention.

Ryo smiled and ran a hand through the tiger's fur, before saying to the girl, "Last time everybody was too shocked by what happened to ask where I spent my night. This time everyone, including the Seasonals, is watching me like they would a newborn!"

"So if they ask, you tell them it's none of their business, or you tell them the truth," she responded closing the door, and locking it before taking a seat in the chair she'd been using before.

"Dare I ask why you locked it?" Ryo inquired, both eyebrows raised sharply.

_'She wants to have her way with you,'_ White Blaze sarcastically commented, though mischief played in his eyes knowing he'd get a good reaction from his cub on this one.

"Blaze!" Ryo hissed whapping the animal in the forehead, a red tint coming to his cheeks.

The tiger didn't fail to notice the color and was quick to comment with, '_Mm, maybe it's the other way around?' _He let out a laugh and jumped out of Ryo's way the young man having moved to tackle him.

A smug grin was on White Blaze's face, and he tilted his head sniggering, _'Ha! I got her to blush; I knew it could be done.' _

Ryo quickly shot a glance at the girl and smirked at what he saw, "He's right…You can actually blush."

Elayne could feel the heat coming to her cheeks, and swore she went redder at Ryo's comment. "You two," the girl seethed…She wasn't sure whether to be highly embarrassed or annoyed…She settled on being pissed instead. "Quit it, or I'll kick you out!"

Both males chuckled in amusement at her threat, but quieted down noticing that she was now ignoring them by looking over a book she had opened.

The young man got to his feet slightly disappointed he had lost her attention, and headed towards the bed. A smirk was on his face as he quipped, "Hey? Feel free to _join_ me; _later_."

Ryo ducked narrowly avoiding the slipper she tossed at his head; well she wasn't completely ignoring him after all. White Blaze merely laughed again, shaking his furry head at the pair before lying down next to the bed.

Once she was sure both Ronin and tiger were asleep Elayne permitted herself a smile…Ryo had been able to understand White Blaze, word for word. That meant the Ronin of Wildfire had his memories back; the warriors had a slight upper-hand against the enemy. They were going to need it.


	41. Chapter 40: Home for the Holidays

_A/N: Finally, we have come to the end of the first book of "The Gathering of The Legends" series. It's been a long haul, and I'm certain confusing at times, but you've reached the end of the book. I do not plan on posting Book Two right away, but if there is a great demand for it, I will start posting up. In the mean time check out "Wait and See" and "The Storm's Weathered" if you haven't already; both stories take place in the TGOL universe and occur shortly before this book takes place. Also, be on the lookout for a totally unrelated fanfic based off of Sifirela's "Unspoken." Thanks for reading, and extra special thanks to those who have reviewed. As well as a super special thank-you to LWKitty, Sifirela, and Yesterday's Tonic; they know what for. :)_

_See you all again soon!_

_LG_

* * *

**Chapter Forty**

"**Home for the Holidays"**

* * *

With the knowledge that the enemy would not be attacking for several weeks, the warriors all breathed a sigh of much needed relief. The constant fighting and life-or-death situations had worn all of them down, at this point? Each of them most certainly needed a break, and now was the perfect time of year for it.

December…The month of endings, and also beginnings…

Japan did not place a great emphasis on Christmas…Well not as much as the United States did anyway. Regardless, that was not going to stop the Sailor Elementals from going all-out.

The minute the other warriors left the house for a few hours the four young women had drug out the various ornaments and decorations they had acquired over the years, and proceeded to "deck the halls."

The banister was covered in silver and gold garland, Vanessa had the job of doing that and she had done it quite well. Kirstin had set about putting a bow and holly above each doorway in the mansion, Callista having helped her getting things in place.

Aurora had teasingly asked if they could throw in some mistletoe, Elayne had laughed and said she didn't want to give her friends that much of a culture shock. To be honest, she just didn't want to have to deal with disappointed people or overly happy ones…No matter what, in her opinion, mistletoe was _**always**_ trouble.

Aurora and Callista had then teamed up to rig lights on the porch railing, adding a big outside ornament here or there just to liven it up a bit. The Elementals had quite a few figurines to put outside as well, a handful of Toy Soldiers and the odd Candy Cane, and not to mention a Santa Claus.

By the end of a two hour period the only thing missing was a Christmas tree, and that wasn't an issue either. Vanessa's mother had sent them a fake one three years prior, and the four young women quickly set it up, lights, ornaments, and tree-topper.

Elayne didn't partake in any of the activities, she never had…The girl had always enjoyed watching the others go through the motions of setting things up. It was just…Well she didn't know really, she just liked to be there and to see.

Then again there was one thing she did do, she was the one who got to put up the garland…The Sailor Elementals could not for the life of them get it to drape the way they wanted. One time Callista had ended up tangled in the stuff, it took them an hour to get her unstuck.

* * *

"Laney!" Aurora called out, as she finished with the tree-topper, "Your turn. Come on, we've only got another fifteen minutes before the others get back."

The girl shook her head, "I should've let you put up the mistletoe, they're going to go into culture shock anyway."

"You reconsidering?" Kirstin hopefully inquired.

"Just so you get a chance with Kento-kun? Nah, don't think so," the girl remarked with a smirk, ducking a punch and quickly grabbing the garland.

She carefully climbed the ladder and began her task, and five minutes later she was finished. She got down and stretched, "Remind me again, why are you doing all this?"

"To see the looks on their faces," Vanessa sniggered, "I can hardly wait."

"They aren't even going to be here for that long," Elayne murmured, with a slight shake of her head, "I think almost all of them are leaving tonight."

The warriors would be going home to see their families, for those that had them. With an entire month devoid of the enemy it meant they could spend time at home with those that they had been distancing themselves from. The Inner Senshi were actually looking forward to spending some quality time at home; the Outer?

Well, Elayne knew how the four liked to do their own thing…They'd most likely hide somewhere from Lindsay and then just walk back into the mansion like they never left. In the case of the Ronin Warriors, it had taken a bit of prodding from her to get them to go home.

With Yayoi having been witness to what she had, it was only a matter of time before word got around and the calls of concern came in. The Date, Mouri, and Faun Clans had known of the armor legends for a long time; so it wasn't that big of a shock to them that their children actually had the armors.

However after things had quieted down (meaning after the happenings cause by Suzunagi), the families had been under the impression that that was it. They were unaware a new issue had arisen and it would be better for them to hear it from their children.

Rowen was rather lucky or so his friend's told him; his family did not know about the armors, just a myth or two but nothing definite. He had never done anything to confirm that the myth was real and he wore one of the armors.

It was just his way of protecting them; he had always figured that they were safer not knowing about what he was. Plus, his father being such the odd scientist, well Strata's bearer wasn't in the mood to become a guinea pig.

The Sanada Clan was probably knowledgeable on the subject of the armors, but there was no telling really. Ryo's father, Sanada Takumi, was aware his son bore armor, and also knew of the Ronin having met them on occasions…But as it was Ryo and his father no longer spoke to each other.

Elayne frowned as she thought this over; if there was anything she wanted to get slightly amended by the end of the year it was that. Ryo had already lost his mother; he didn't need to lose his father too (even if Sanada-san deserved the cold-shoulder treatment).

Though even with this factor in mind, Ryo still was not going to be alone. With the other four Ronin going back to their home's, the Seasonals had offered Wildfire the chance to join them in the Nether Realm. Kayura wanted to take advantage of the quiet month, to check and make sure everything was all right there.

Anubis had largely agreed with her, saying if they wanted to get more things done to help the Realm they needed to do it while they had the chance. The other three had begrudgingly agreed, needless to say they were getting attached to the Mortal Realm.

The Ronin Leader had thought the proposition over, discussed it with his teammates and decided to join the Seasonals. The young man was curious to see how much had changed since his last visit there, and Kayura was talking about all the changes they had made and seemed very excited to show him.

It was going to be a quiet December; the Inner and Outer Senshi would be gone, the Ronin Elementals and Seasonals…Even Lindsay would be off the premises. She was going to stay with her 'boyfriend' and his family for the month…Elayne truly pitied the poor man, if Lindsay was ever going to show her true colors it would be then. Her cousin was most likely going to be boyfriend-less by the start of the New Year; and she didn't feel the least bit bad about that.

"Doesn't matter," the Elemental of Air commented, "A few hours is good enough for me. I just want to see it is all; you can take the American out of America, but you can't get rid of her Christmas."

Kirstin snorted in laughter, "Ya, it does seem ridiculous that we did all this work and none of us are going to be here to see much of it."

Oh yes, Elayne had forgotten that even the Elemental Senshi would be leaving. Each young woman had a friend that they had promised they would spend some time with, and now with the enemy out of the way they were seizing the chance to do so.

"I'll be here," the girl offered trying to stop herself from brooding too much…Elayne decided she needed to stop trying to be like Sage; "I'll be seeing plenty of it."

"I forgot," Aurora put a hand over her mouth, "Elayne are you sure you don't want to come with one of us? Or one of the others for that matter? I'm sure Sage…Or…"

The girl laughed and offered the woman a smile, "I'll be fine here, Orey. If I get bored I'll just harass Kayura, or go out and bug Kento in Yokohama. I've got plenty of places to go."

'_But, as always I have no home. Because, I don't belong here and never have.' _She thought in her head.

Before further comments could be made, the trio of cats, Luna, Artemis and Diana came bounding into the room; White Blaze was not that far behind them.

Each animal was sporting wide grins, very pleased with all the sprucing up the Elemental Senshi had done. They were just as anxious to see the other warriors' reactions as the four Americans.

"They're coming," Artemis sniggered out.

Luna tilted her head, and inquired, "Cameras ready?"

The Elemental Senshi and Elayne each withdrew one, and said in perfect unison, "Yup." All of them exchanged glances, grinned evilly, and then headed out onto the porch and waited…Five minutes later…

_**"WHAT THE?!" **_

* * *

An hour later the laughter and amazement had died down, giving way to somewhat more pensive thoughts.

Four months ago, they had all been living relatively normal lives. The Senshi might have encounters with the Raikken by that point, but not one of the girl's had thought it would ever lead to this.

All good things had to come to an end, and that included peace. As warriors each of them knew this, be it Senshi or Ronin, they understood that their desire to be like other people would always take backstage the next time evil reared its head.

It was just something the warriors had gotten used to expecting, but it didn't make it any easier to deal with. There was always that hidden desire for things to finally be over, for their jobs to end…To never have to take up arms again.

But to realize that everything else they had done up to this point was more or less a test of their worth…That all the pain and suffering they had experienced was barely a fraction of what they had gone through in past lives, and what they had yet to go through…It was overwhelming.

With all the stress each of them had been under lately, they needed to get away…And that was probably why they didn't put up a fight when Elayne suggested they go home.

Her main reason for wanting them to go was so they could breathe fresh air, be away from their companions and allies for a little bit so they could sort things out. She also wanted them to remember what they were fighting for, because she feared they were beginning to lose sight of that.

As the girl continued to stand on the porch, hazel-violet eyes flickered slowly around the property as she drifted in and out of her thoughts. The Outer Senshi had been the first to depart, and most of the Inner had left at this point...Only two remained (four if you count the cats).

"See ya's in January!" Rini hollered out waving goodbye, Diana resting on her head.

"Kay, kiddo," a voice broke in from behind Elayne jarring her back to reality, "Stay out of trouble!"

"Aww, come on Kento!" the little girl gave a pout, smiling happily when Darien pulled up. "You know I will."

"Uh huh," the Ronin of Hardrock gave a slight nod, smiling at the small child.

Serena came out of the house, Luna securely in her arms, "No wild parties, now."

"Don't worry," Rowen smirked at the blonde girl, "We don't plan to fall over."

Darien let out a light chuckle in amusement at his wife-to-be as she huffed and climbed into the car. He eyed the two Ronin and shook his head, "See ya around."

"Good luck Darien!" Both men called out, then laughed when he shouted back a thank-you.

Rowen shook his head slightly as the car pulled away, "You and kids, Kento. One would think you'd get tired of them; seeing as how many siblings you have."

"Nah, they're priceless," He slung an arm over Elayne's shoulder, "Right, mei mei?"

She gave a roll of her hazel-violet eyes, shrugging out of his grip, "Hardhead, I'm not a kid!"

"You still look like one," the Torrent Ronin pointed out as he joined them on the porch.

Elayne gave a small smirk, "If I remember right, you weren't any better. _Fish boy_."

Cye bristled at the nickname but didn't make a comment on it, he merely ignored her.

"Ouch," the bearer of Halo emerged from the house, "I'd certainly like to know where you got the smart-comment thing from."

"From hanging around him," Elayne dully pointed to the Ronin of Strata, as if it should have been obvious where it came from.

"HEY!" Rowen yelped ready to pounce on her, but the Warrior of Trust and that of Strength merely grabbed the spry archer by his arms. Strata's bearer scowled and tried to get lose, and finally gave up after a few minutes.

"Antagonizing them again, are we?" Someone queried with mild amusement. Turning her head to look she saw the Seasonal of Summer standing behind her leaning against the house watching as things occurred.

She threw him a rueful smile, saying in response, "I have yet to stop."

At this comment, chuckling sprang up from the shadows lingering next to them; the four Ronin abruptly cast glares at it…But she seemed unconcerned.

"Cale, you're being rude," Elayne told him plainly, going back to watching the forest, "You shouldn't eavesdrop."

He gave a toss of his wild blue hair, saying coolly "You forget I wasn't taught any manners."

"Oh yeah," she remarked with a snigger, "You're right."

"I can't believe Elayne actually forgot something," the Fall bearer teased with a grin, as he came up and leaned against the porch railing.

"Sekhmet, where have you been hiding?" Dais demanded eyeing him carefully, "I spent the better part of two hours trying to find you."

The man gave a careless shrug of his shoulders, "Around."

The bearer of Summer let out a low growl, not pleased with the answer and fully prepared to make another comment only to be cut off.

"Oh, don't start!" Kayura reprimanded, coming out of the house, "I mean it. You two are not going to carry on the entire way to the Dynasty."

The Ronin of Halo chuckled softly to himself at how very much like a mother Kayura sounded just then.

"Yes," both men looked heavenwards for a moment, and then added, "Mom."

"Oh!" Kayura fumed rolling up the sleeves to her sweater, "That's it. You going to call me Mom? Well then, I'm going to pull…"

Elayne to the rescue, she quickly clamped her hand down over Kayura's mouth, "Do not finish that sentence, in front of Rowen."

A round of laughter went up at this and the man in question innocently whistled, shoving his hands into the pockets of his faded blue-jeans. It took Kayura a few minutes to catch on, but when she did…

"You're kidding?" she looked at Elayne dubiously, before turning her eyes to Strata, "Are you really that shameless?"

Rowen permitted himself a full-smirk, "Kayura? You forgetting our little comments during those fights?"

"Oh gosh!" She let out a gasp, slapping her own hand over her mouth trying to hide her laughter, but failing to do so. "I almost forgot; you are_ that_ bad."

Cale saw an opportunity, grinned evilly, and took it, "Mm, what are we missing? Somebody wouldn't happen to have a c…"

Kayura fully prepared to lunge at the Winter Seasonal, however Anubis completely beat her to the punch by tripping the man up.

He allowed himself a smile, before saying calmly, "It is probably wisest to let them live, Kayura. At least until we deal with Akemliek."

"Oh if you say so Anubis, but the minute it's taken care of," A devious smile crossed the Lady Ancient's face as she eyed the three men. They proceeded to noticeably gulp and hastily evacuated the porch.

The Ronin of Strata was the first to laugh at this, and the other three Ronin quickly joined him.

"What's so funny?" Anubis innocently queried, though he knew full well what the four had found so entertaining.

Elayne shrugged saying with a grin, "You probably don't want to know." The girl cast one more look to the forest, relief coming to her as the two she was looking for were now in view.

"What's with all the commotion?" Ryo had been out on a walk, White Blaze having stuck to his cub's side like glue. The young man had been taking it easy, going on walks for no more than fifteen minutes before returning. Anything more than that made him extremely tired, it would take some time for him to rebuild the strength he'd lost.

"Nothing much," Kento dabbed at his eyes with his thumb, "Kayura's merely planning out how she's going to kill the other Seasonals."

The Ronin Leader let out a chuckle, eyes sparkling in mirth, "Guess this means, I'm going to have to defend them on this trip?"

"Oh don't worry," the Lady Ancient gave him a wry grin, "I won't harm them until after Akemliek gets, 'moon dusted.'"

A round of sniggers went up at this comment, the catch-phrases the Senshi used were too corny to leave alone…You_ had_ to pick fun at them.

"We'll leave you boys _alone_," the woman drawled, snatching Anubis by his shirt sleeve and tugging him off the porch. Elayne snorted down a laugh at this, and shook her head.

"She's a trip," the Wildfire Ronin commented with a chuckle in amusement, inquiring, "You guys going to be okay?"

"No worries here mate," Cye confidently stated, "So long as you don't do anything that puts your life in danger, I won't worry much."

"Oh would you four give it a rest already?" he complained though he was still smiling, "Anubis-tachi aren't going to let me do anything. Besides that, Kayura has already threatened me about what'll happen if I don't stay away from hazardous situations."

Kento snorted down a laugh, "I bet she has."

The Ronin Leader tilted his head and studied his four friends for a long moment; a number of thoughts running through his head. Parting had never been easy for any of them. Whenever they had reunions they'd spend hours with one another and just about refusing to split up again…No matter how necessary it might have been.

This was one of those times that it had become necessary to go their separate ways, but it would only be for a few weeks. Then, they'd be back under the same roof which suited their tastes just fine. Cye had once remarked that he would have liked to live together like they had at Mia's, and each of them shared that sentiment.1 Granted they would have liked to have had this without the fighting, but you took what came to you.

Ryo let out a sigh, "I'll see you guys in a few weeks. Say hi to your families for me?"

"Sure," the Ronins of Torrent and Hardrock agreed.

Sage eyed his leader carefully, saying, "Just take it easy Ryo."

"Otherwise you're gonna be in for it when we get a hold of you," the Strata Ronin warned with a grin.

The raven-haired man chuckled, "I'll keep it in mind, come on Blaze. Talk to you later, Elayne."

"Yeah, you bet," she commented as he and the tiger started to walk off, "I'm going to be checking in on you guys daily. Yayoi will have my hide if I don't."

She then quickly shouted out, at the five Seasonals who were just now disappearing from sight, "Kayura! Don't forget!"

Her musical laughter drifted back to them, "I won't!"

* * *

"Now we're down to eight," Elayne commented with a slight sigh, as she turned to face her brothers.

Sage studied her carefully, noticing that she was fingering the jewel around her neck. He had failed to keep count of how man times he'd seen her do that over the past few months. He only knew that she had done it quite often.

"Yo Sage? We need to get going here," Rowen waved a hand in front of his friend's face. "I think you're train is leaving first."

"Ah," violet eyes blinked slightly, "It does."

The Sailor Elementals took that moment to emerge from the house, having spent the better part packing; each woman toted a piece of luggage. While the Ronin Warriors would be going home and each had plenty of clothes there, the young women were going to need their things.

The eight warriors had decided to leave for the train station together, just so they could talk along the way…And say their goodbyes later on.

"Trying to escape any of you is just out of the question," Kento remarked in amusement to the Senshi, referring to the fact that even though they were leaving they'd still be relatively close.

Kirstin smirked, "What did you expect?"

Callista would be staying with her friend that lived up in the Sendai area, Vanessa's cousin resided in Osaka Fu, Aurora was going to Hagi and even stranger was the fact that Kirstin was going to stay with someone in Yokohama. None of them had failed to pick up on how strange it was, Sage's comment had been that someone was trying way too hard to get them to work together.

The Ronin of Hardrock shrugged loosely, before giving Elayne a bear hug, "You need _anything_, mei mei, you call."

"I promise I will," she offered him a smile before stepping over and hugging Cye.

The young man raised an auburn-eyebrow when she proceeded to give him another hug, "What's that for?"

"One for you, and one for Mum," she responded with a wink.

"I'll remember that," he said with a chuckle in amusement, as he stepped off the porch alongside his best friend.

"We'll see you later," Kirstin assured the girl; Aurora gave an avid no in agreement. The Elemental Senshi had already said their goodbyes to Elayne earlier, so they felt little need to go on with a lengthy one now.

Elayne smirked, "Mhm, bet I won't be the only one you might see later."

"Shuddup!" the Earth Scout hissed in annoyance before stalking off; Aurora sniggered.

Rowen shook his head in amusement, not failing to catch what Elayne was hinting at. He decided to keep this opinion to himself, at least for the time being.

"You…" He grabbed Elayne, and gave her a hug, "Better not destroy anything, while we are gone."

"Aww, Rowie!" She gave a playful pout, "You're just no fun anymore."

The Ronin of Strata laughed lightly as he let her go, "I know, you keep telling me that."

"Catcha later girl," Callista said with a smile, "And since he said you can't destroy anything that means you're not allowed to redecorate until I get back. Okay?"

"Yes ma'am!" Elayne stood at attention and saluted, then stuck her tongue out at her friend.

Vanessa offered a grin, "You're crazy. See you in a few weeks." She stepped off the porch and joined the others, playfully bopping Cye in the head for a wise-crack he had just made.

Sage watched Elayne for a few minutes, before stepping up to her. He proceeded to pick her up and swung her around for good measure.

"Eek!" She shrieked out hastily shutting her eyes, "Ni-chan! Not fair, put me down!"

The blond swordsman gave a laugh, and did as she requested, "Sorry, I had to do that."

He tilted his head at her, the smile slowly fading from his face, "Are you sure you'll be all right by yourself?"

"Sage, I'm a big girl," Elayne poked him in the arm, "I am used to being alone, believe it or not. You guys can't be here to spoil me with your paranoia twenty-four seven."

The Halo Ronin let out a chuckle, "That's one way of looking at it. I reiterate what Kento told you; if you need anything, call."

He didn't want to leave her by herself, not like this. Over the past four months he was sure she had become used to seeing them, even if it was only once a week (though she'd been coming more often the past few).

Maybe Sage would not have minded so much if someone was staying, but everyone was gone…If anything happened to her she'd be on her own and he didn't like that thought one bit.

"Stop worrying so much," she ridiculed in a teasing tone, "Now hurry up or they're going to leave without you."

The Warrior of Wisdom and Courtesy let out a sigh, "All right; take it easy Elayne." He then joined the others, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

* * *

The girl sat on the porch railing and watched as the eight of them made their way to their destination. A smile framed her face as their talk drifted back to her, the jokes and the obvious punches and pokes…

The minute they disappeared from her view, she let out an anguished sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. She drew her knees up to her chest, and then wrapped her arms around her legs, propping her head up.

She looked at the stars that were just now starting to line the night-sky; she caught a flicker of movement there and quickly made a wish. Elayne continued to remain in the same position after that, brooding on how quiet it was going to be without them.

_'Going to miss them?' _A voice gently inquired.

Elayne suddenly grinned; well it wouldn't be that quiet as she wasn't _completely _alone, "Of course I will miss them; I always do."

The woman chuckled in amusement, saying quietly, _'You know it could be worse?'_

"Oh how's that?" She inquired curiously, slipping down from the railing, landing gently on the grass.

Elayne listened carefully to the voice and laughed softly, murmuring, "You're right; it could be centuries before they come back...But don't forget Simoria, they aren't exactly _back _yet."

_'True,'_ the ancient being murmured in acknowledgement, _'Very true. Don't give up hope on them yet.'_

She snorted in amusement, "After all this time, why would I give up now? I believe in them, I always have and always will. _Nothing _will ever change that, nothing."

…December…It was the month of new beginnings and also endings. One story in the Ronin and Senshi's lives had been completed, and all-too soon the next chronicle would begin.

-The End...For now.

* * *

1) In Cassette Book Volume 3, Shin remarks towards the end of it that: "I'd like to live together again one day, just like what we did at Nasti's place."


End file.
